Blackberries
By Margaret
Atwood
In the early morning an old woman is picking blackberries in the shade.
It will be too
hot later but right now there’s dew.
Some berries fall: those are for the squirrels.
Some are
unripe, reserved for bears.
Some go into
the metal bowl.
Those are for
you, so you may taste them
Just for a moment.
That’s good
times: one little sweetness after another, then quickly gone.
Once, this old woman I’m conjuring up for you
would have been
my grandmother.
Today it’s me.
Years from now it might be you, if you’re quite lucky.
The hands
reaching out among the leaves and spines
were once my
mother’s.
I’ve passed
them on.
Decades ahead,
you’ll study your own temporary hands,
and you’ll
remember.
Don’t cry, this
is what happens.
Look! The steel bowl is almost full.
Enough for all
of us.
The
blackberries gleam like glass, like the glass ornaments
we hang on
trees in December
to remind
ourselves to be grateful for snow.
Some berries occur in sun, but they are smaller.
It’s as I
always told you: the best ones grow in shadow.
(Submitted by Kathleen Dickey)
______________________________________________________________________________
Special bows for today:
- Please offer bows for:
- Please continue to offer bows in honor of:
- Nora Hayes-Roth, a dear friend of Misha's, who died on 11/25/20
- Dan Pomeroy, a friend of dharma brother, Dainuri Rott, who died on 11/20/20
- Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:
- Shannon's husband, Gil, who has had a seizure and is in ICU
- Misha's uncle, Jack Colegrove, who has contracted COVID
- Misha's brother, Duane, who is receiving radiation for cancer
- Roshi Sojun (Mel) Weitsman) who entered hospice 12/14/20
- Flip Dibner, who is undergoing chemotherapy while at home
- David Shaw, who suffered a stroke; he is home now with his wife, Nancy, and beginning the long slow process of rehabilitation
- Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is in the final month of chemotherapy
- From Misha: something to make you laugh and cry at the same time! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1btUIANxpzDfZ-yMSh3j3Ky1AUnToc1QO
- From MIsha: The Hallelujah Chorus like you've never seen/heard before (from Barcelona) https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=NXFhkmyVRgM
- From Randy: a video about the CZU fire of Summer, 2020: https://vimeo.com/475244405/109d3f90d3
- Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
- If you would like to leave a comment on this blog: Here is a quick video on how to--it's from 2017, but should work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4RflO5Wgg
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