FIRST FRUITS
First fruits means 'first for the birds.'
Black sergeants-at-arms dart among the red currants
scooping juicy berries the minute before they are ripe
leaving the next one time to gain in colour and sweetness
before it too is plucked by a rasping beak, strong and precise.
Later when stem upon stem of these dangling red clusters
mature in response to the day's warmth and the luxury of longer light
there is sufficient abundance to collect a bowlful
of the sun's stored energy.
Instead of beak, fingers pluck berries from stem to pot
in preparation for the great alchemical process
of jam making.
Juices run together joining similar but unique
experiences of fruitfulness
while heat increases the activity
as fructose bubbles rise to the surface
in the leap from liquid to solid.
Stir clockwise in a figure of eight:
this aspect of infinity a sequential link
between sowing and harvest.
Welcome First Fruits.
Kaaren Whitney
Lammas 2002
