Redhanded

Fruit entices from above,
luscious, defended
by fell clutch of sharp canes
but I’m unafraid
of the bludgeoning of plants;
berries fill my red-stained palms.

~~~

This morning, as I battled nature for a handful of wild black raspberries, I remembered hearing “Invictus” recited by a character on a Chinese drama, “Entrepreneurial Age.”

“In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.” – Invictus, William Ernest Henley