Rubus ursinus

blackberry bramble at the church lot's edge, those berries of some picked, washed, and fed to one loved, to whom do they belong?

the question begs two truths, intersecting, the drupelets taste, clear apples, thorny stems lace a forager's bare ankles

The many species of Rubus rank at the top of the list of summer foods for wildlife. Many animals and birds depend on the abundant plants; the fruit is eaten by the Band-Tailed Pigeon, Western Bluebird, Blackheaded Grosbeak, Scrub and Stellar's Jay, Mockingbird, Bullock's Oriole, Fox, Song, and White-Crowned Sparrow, Western Tanager, California Thrasher, Brown Towhee, Wren-Tit, and Portola Wood Rat. The stems and foliage are browsed by California Mule Deer. Many of these same animals use the dense berry thickets for nesting sites and protective cover....To avoid thorns, gather blackberries while wearing gloves that have the fingertips cut out (Clarke, p.24)

Rubus leaves, trifoliate, brew to a fine tea, the young shoots, boil and eat before the thorns harden

never inside the church building itself, episcopal (having bishops), the polity sing indoors on sundays, hymns to the tripartate, lords hung above, veiled, thorn-crowned, line to sip communion his blood,

foragers, faces, feet, legs, and shoulders darken from rainbow summer sun, the half-ripe berries, still ruby, soaked in water, make a pleasant drink