I work at the edge, where the light of Awen beckons,  
Drawing me back to the warmth of this earthly life.  

Foraging into uncharted realms, brambles cross my face,
thick and wild,  
An unyielding maze where the shadows of my demons linger;  
they are a little messed up.  

Yearning to retreat, to find solace on familiar ground.  
Visions of a goddess pulse an existence, so inspired

I stand tall, defenses at the ready,  
Nurturing the delicate blooms of change within.  
In the quiet moments of within myself, I gather strength,  
For transformation requires time, patience, and grace
I humble my mind.

One day, I will rise, petals unfurling to the sun,  
To bring forth my gifts, sharing the beauty of my journey  
With the world the seed is broadcast, as I climb steadily from the dark.

Huge thorny sweet chestnuts bloom
As blackberries wither on the briar
Lightly dusted in silver and sagging
Off the stalks.
The path lined with oak and bramble.
Wonderful hues of brown and gold
Are now littered against green.
The air is cool and moist
As autumn gathers around.

The sigh of things gone,
echoes of hope and the
small prickles of a blackberry
as I turn it on my tongue
between knives of teeth.
I reach further into the bracken,
The tangle of thorns caressing, hooking themselves into my clothes,  
These are familiar pains,
Small scrapes of memory.
Petrichor, a reminder of our last walk
The clouds, tremendous waves breaking across the sky, coming storm
The plucked magnolia blossom wilting in my hand
How bitter it tasted on our tongues
I saw the berries, then, crimson unripe jewels
Vowed a Persephone return when they had turned onyx
And came back alone while you languished
In your underworld.

I can find sweetness amid the pain,
What have you found
To sustain  yourself ?

All hail children of the waning summer
Sour and prickly, soft and sweet
These sun-wild children wander free
Blackberry stains on callused feet


NCL September 2019

One golden August day
Walking along the narrow lane

With ice cream pail in hand
Over the lush woodsy land

Looking for brambles of blackberries
Thirsting for their sweet juice in my belly

And nature's kindness does bestow
Along the lane unhindered they grow

Blackberries hang swollen on their vines
The first one a sweet addictive wine

Soon forgotten are the thorns
Each berry its own delectable reward

ALesiach © 07/26/2019

Stop looking at me
as if I’m some
- thing
to swallow up
or spit out.
A berry, black, swollen
ready to be chosen for your
consumption. I sour on your
tongue, assaulting your
taste buds because you
thought the only
- thing
that mattered was the purplish black,
the juice that produced for your
pleasure, my ripe, plump bumps,
my green hands
outstretched ready and there, for you?
Still you pluck and **** and stare
and **** me up with your
barren compliments stripping
my sweet substance
one by one
by one, you
extract it out
of me

Dog days of summer
How doth thou steal
Sweet blackberry plunder
How will I ever heal?

Cars passed fast
breeze swishes trees
As if spirits
Floating so free

A whisper they hiss
run faster than fastest
to grocery store produce bliss
give those blackberries
                                  a little kiss