Blackberries by Leusa Lloyd

As we turned to autumn, when bounty

was all crab-apple and bramble,

he’d walk her past sunset, sky dark

as sloe,

foraging roadsides for tart berries,

swollen and plump from summer’s love,

hedgerow after hedgerow she threshed

their thorny grip

vining around her,

groping, pulling

in dimness

bleeding, pinned

until first light

was witness

to red-stained

fingertips.

____________

Leusa is an emerging Welsh writer and poet. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Ink, Sweat & Tears, Propel Magazine, Green Ink Poetry, Mugwort, Moon Water, Tiny Wren Lit, Black Bough Poetry, Wee Sparrow Press and more. She was long listed for the 2023 Mslexia Pamphlet Competition. Follow her on Instagram (@leusalloyd) and X (@lloydleusa).