Blackberry Picking Flashcards
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen
‘Ripen’ - anticipation
Late August, given heavy rain and sun
Precise date
You ate that first one and it’s flesh was sweet
Use of second person
Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it
‘Thickened wine’ - rich
‘Blood’ - links to ‘clot’ in line 3 - red like blood - carries the energy of the sun
Sent us out with milk-cans, pea-tins, jam pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots
They are desperate to lay their hands on anything
‘Briars scratched’ - worth it
We trekked and picked until the cans were full
Repetition of sound - shows picking
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones
‘Tinkling bottom’ - dropping green berries into the bottom of the cans
And on top big dark blobs burned like a plate of eyes
Sun glinting makes the berries look like eyeballs - sinister
Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s
Another sinister remark - Bluebeard is a fairy tale mass murderer
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on out cache
The use of rat to describe the fungus suggests rats are his fear
‘Cache’ - secret stash
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour
Sad - he doesn’t want to believe it
I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair
‘Always’ - this happened every year
‘It wasn’t fair’ - childish
Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not
‘Knew they’ - emphasised
Sad - he doesn’t want to believe it
There are lots of sinister words and description, give examples
Clots, blood, palm’s sticky, plate of eyes, rot, rat-grey fungus
