Elliott’s blueberry, Vaccinium elliottii
Who was the first to pluck
the dark round fruit from yellow stem? Did she glimpse
it as she walked the riverbank? Did she follow
the swirl of pink bell blossoms in a shrub? Did she see
bees dance on the petals? Or a bird snatch
a berry from the stem? Did she sense
they are high in antioxidants or did she just savor
the way the fruit burst
a splash of sweet and bitter across her tongue? Did she imagine
one day another Down East girl would pluck
them from a plastic cup and plop
them two at a time in her mouth as she drove
along a riverbank?
