One of the surprises I have discovered living in the rural areas of northern Benton County are the wild raspberries that grow each June.
I do not have the same green thumb my grandfather and father had. I can barely make anything grow.
But with the raspberries, all I have to do is pick them once a year. I can handle that.
The ones that grow on our farm are best when eaten fresh, right after being plucked from the vine. My son's mother-in-law used some for a pie once (very good). I tried them in ice cream (not so good). But mostly I just eat them fresh for a few weeks in late spring or early summer.
A few years ago, while walking among the raspberries the day after an intense thunderstorm, these words came to me.
Raspberries after the rain
Life ain’t always funny
When the sky turns unsunny
And the blue up above
Turns to black
The wind and the lightning
Can be utterly frightening
As the water
Leaves its muddy tracks
But when windows do rattle
As rain drenches the cattle
And your little kids
Jump in your bed
An outdoor phenomenon
Keeps right on growing on
Offering more proof
that God is not dead
While most creatures cower
From the cold falling showers
Below the tops of the trees
The water that splattered
Finds a purpose that matters
And gently soaks into ripened raspberries
When the rain goes away
And you see the sun’s rays
Follow me to the edge of the woods
You will see what I mean
When you look at the green
And the purple that
says, “It’s all good.”
Even before the rain fell
It was easy to tell
Which of the berries were ready for eating
Deep and purple and shiny
Not quite huge but not tiny
Are the ones most deliciously treating
I still don’t know yet
What makes them look wet
Even days after we see rain retreating
But when fresh rain begins
And that moisture soaks in
It in spires this poetic drumbeating
And yet, you must know
That you really must go
To the wild to learn this yourself
Because berries this fresh
And rain-softened and wet
Cannot be found on some store shelf
While these berries are real
I can’t help but feel
They’ve been put here to teach me a lesson
While the taste is divine
They do also remind
Me what to think when I don’t feel life blessings
On days when I’m grumpy
Or feeling down in the dump-y
There’s a place where I find relief
And while I savor the berries
My worries are carried
Somewhere far beyond human belief
And if I were you
I’d do what I do
And find a place there all alone
Though your fingers may stain
You will be glad you came
And you will leave urging others to come
On some days, no doubt,
You’d love to say to some lout
Something that rhymes with “above it’
But if you can just steal away
You find a raspberry a day
Can turn a bad day into one that’s beloved
So the next time it rains
Or you’re feeling some pains
From a world ever more loud and crowded
Find a hill with a vine
And spend some quality time
It will change your view, no doubt about it
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