raspberries

sure

discipline is great and all that

delaying gratification leads to success

and eating sweets late at night

can give you heartburn

but

then there are raspberries

fresh and wet from the rain

that was falling when you picked them

with your boys

their faces smeared with red

and blue and peaches

the sweet abundance of summer

too soon these swollen berries

will begin to sour and mold and then

not even cold sweet cream and syrup

will save them

tragic, really – such a loss

and so you know

at midnight in your kitchen

this is no time for restraint

poem (c) 2015 D. Ohlandt

please only reprint in entirety and with credit given

#40for40