Picking Blueberries at the Convent

By Marjorie Maddox

Split berries, 
bruised berries, 

plump berries,
yellow-not-yet-ripe berries,

maroon-almost-there berries,
give-into-temptation berries,

scattered-sublime berries,
oozing-past-prime berries,

hidden-below berries,
nowhere-to-go berries,

over-your-head berries—
all beads-of-prayer berries.

In the bramble of branches, 
the tangle of twigs,

beyond scratch and stain,
the sweet shrub blooms,

its small fruit destined
for discard, dirt, dessert, or

divine intervention—
delicious rote of rosary.

“Picking Blueberries at the Convent” from Begin with a Question by Marjorie Maddox. © Copyright 2022 by Marjorie Maddox. Used by permission of Paraclete Press. www.paracletepress.com