preserving time

Gold cherry

By Di_Hard

Fri, 10 Sep 2021
  • 1718 reads
12 comments
 

When this pan's hot, usually  it's dull-

full of potatoes or lentils.

Tonight, blackberry juice simmers

fathomless and darkest purple

as the pupil of an elf's eye

looking on moonlight's other-world.

 

Below, on a low heat, glass cells

wait for their nuclei. Liquid

thickens from stirrable

possibility, into fate.

 

Till, lidded, they wait like treasure

buried by people under threat.

Open - whatever fears rule then -

a sweet memory of peace now

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by Turlough on

This describes just about every night in our house at this time of year. We have a garden full of fruit trees and bushes and my missus is obsessed with not wasting any even though she can only scratch the surface of our lovely problem.

We sing a line or two of Bob Marley's Jammin' each time production starts and every morning for the rest of the year as we spread the results on our toast.

I really enjoyed your poem. Your words correspond with what I see when I look into our own pan.

Turlough

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou Tulough, your garden sounds wonderful! I sing the Bob Marley song, too :0) You must have amazing fruit 

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

My mouth is watering! I have never had the courage to research the method to preserve except by simply freezing to look forward to those winter crumbles! Your description of opening your winter specials to put on hot toast, with all the aromas of summer collections is lovely! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much, Rhiannon :0) It is always a special time of year. You are right, the smell is lovely, like a tidal wave when coming in through the front door! 

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

The process of preserving needs care and attention. I don't know why, but your poem spoke to me not only of preserving fruit, but also the need to preserve the extinction of life...isn't it strange how words can take you in a completely different direction to that which was intended? Like the picking of blackberries, we need to leave some for the birds and other creatures to feed upon. Therefore I took so much from your poem Di.

I like Rhiannon have never preserved fruit, but I know it's not easy with all the steralization of jars, and temperature of the fruit. Blackberries have a natural pectin, is this right? 

Anyway I too found your poem mouth watering and think about that wonderful season of Autumn as I read.

A poem to reflect on.

Jenny.

 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou Jenny :0) I know from poems you have written, like the one about Hot Cross Buns, that you are a good cook! Much better than I am :0) Maybe you are worried that it might not be perfect, but this only matters if you are entering something for a competition? I would never do that as my stuff is nothing like good enough! I like it because it is taking part in a long tradition, but also because I like the time spent outside with the brambles and insects and birds, and when I open the jar later in the year, I always think of this. Round the brambles where I go, through the long grass, there are lots of hedgehog tracks so I drop some big sweet blackberries for them :0) 

Your point about preserving life is so insightful. Thankyou again for reading and commenting

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

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Please share/retweet if you enjoyed it as much as I did

Picture Credit:https://tinyurl.com/3vujtcu8

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much! And for the perfect photo!

 

Submitted by hilary west on

Hi Di,

This got my mouth watering. I really liked the juicy feel to it and also the phrase 'dullfull' when talking of less glamourous potatoes. A little gem !

hilary    smiley

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for reading and your lovely comment, Hilary, and for saying about dullfull, I always admire how Rhiannon does this

 

Submitted by marandina on

"..as the pupil of an elf's eye." You have a real talent for creative phrasing, Di. A fantastic poem and very original. Paul

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much Paul! That means a lot, from you