Summary

An elderly woman harvests blackberries early in the morning, before it gets too hot. Not every berry is right for eating; some of them are overripe or underripe, and these the woman leaves for other animals. The perfect ones she gathers for her family. The speaker remembers how her grandmother did the same thing a long time ago, and one day the speaker’s daughter or granddaughter will follow in their footsteps. She compares her hands to the hands of her mother, and considers the nature of ageing.

The bowl is nearly filled with blackberries, reminding the speaker of holiday ornaments. The speaker ultimately reflects on the difference between the sunlit berries and the shaded berries: despite expectation, the shaded berries are best.

Analysis

The poem begins in a misleading third-person narrative in which the speaker describes themself remotely as “an old woman” (Line...