POETRY POALL TIME

[kleenexwoman]

"Millions of Strawberries," by Genevieve Taggard

Marcia and I went over the curve,
Eating our way down
Jewels of strawberries we didn't deserve,
Eating our way down
Till our hands were sticky, and our lips painted
And over us the hot day fainted,
An we saw snakes,
And got scratched,
And a lust overcame us for the red unmatched
Small buds of berries,
Till we lay down--
Eating our way down--
And rolled in the berries like two little dogs,
Rolled
In the late gold.
And gnats hummed,
And it was cold,
And home we went, home without a berry,
Painted red and brown,
Eating our way down.

[Poll #1206652]

Comments

[benprime.livejournal.com]

this poem makes me want: strawberries and a companion. Not so much sex, but someone with whom to go picking berries or hanging out in fields or walking home with. It could be read to a child or a lover because each would get something from it appropriate to them. Probably wouldn't read it to a favorite grandmother though unless she was, you know, extremely hip.

As for the eroticism of berries, there is a short scene in the pilot of Firefly where Kaylee is alone in the kitchen with a box of strawberries which is... extremely erotic.

Thank you for posting the poem.

[kleenexwoman.livejournal.com]

I do miss having outdoors friends to pick berries and walk in the woods with. ...I miss having places that I could go to pick berries or walk in the woods. This area is full of natural beauty that's either being torn down or hard to get to.

I seldom find strawberries erotic--the acidic taste, the unpleasant texture of the seeds, the way they get moldy so quickly...but the iconography associated with them is overwhelming. :)