With bucket in hand
and row after row of blueberries
bowing before me
offering themselves
their round fruit so perfect
so ripe

I can't help
plucking a few from bent branches
and popping them into my mouth

surprised at the sweetness
at the warmth

It will take a long time to fill my bucket
but I don't mind
I like the feel of the leaves between my fingers
I like the way the berries fall off of the branch
and into my hand
then into my bucket
to join the ripe
blue congregation
collecting at my feet
And when I squat down to lift those bottom branches
cooing with delight at hidden clumps of fruit
now exposed
I feel ancient and maternal
gathering the fresh fruit
the sweet food

It will take a long time to fill my bucket
but I don't mind

by Jacqueline Dooley

Jacqueline lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York State where she works as a writer and editor for a web site development firm. Jacqueline earned her B.A. in English literature at New York's Stony Brook University. Though her poetry has never before been published, Jacqueline performs regularly at poetry readings in the Hudson Valley and is currently putting the finishing touches on her first novel.