Poem ~ Coming second



Coming second

Row after poly-tunnel row across the top field
are still bursting with green leaves and speckled

with unripe raspberries. My first thought is
these are the ones that missed their chance,

the ones that didn’t meet the season’s timing
of fruiting, plumping and ripening, the ones

that failed to catch the late summer days when
we had sun followed by rain then sun again 

and the canes were jewelled with soft, deep-pink.
But I am wrong – there is another harvest to come

between August and October. There is still
another chance to be ready, to be bold, for each

jewelled fruit to fall into the hands of pickers,
like these two I found at the end of one row.

Some of us take our time. Some of us take
our own sweet time to be a beautiful second. 






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