Galway Kinnell's Poem Blackberry Eating

Blackberry Memories Galway Kinnell’s poem “Blackberry Eating” (rpt. in Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2015] 890-891) makes me think of my childhood with blackberries. Blackberries are my favorite berries and love the time of the year for them. As the poem says “I love to go out in late September among fat, overripe, icy, black blackberries…” (890), this is the best time of the year. Blackberries bring many memories with my grandparents: picking the blackberries, eating the blackberries, and making jelly and cobbler out of blackberries. Galway Kinnell starts talking about “…going out in late September…” (890), this is about the times blackberries is ready to be picked. My grandparents (Granddaddy and Grandmother) always had a blackberry patch. They had three rows and many vines planted. I
The items both my grandmothers made was blackberry jelly. They could make the best jelly. Grandmother made blackberry cobbler all the time for Granddaddy. I remember just sitting on the bar stools and watching Grandmother get everything ready to start making blackberry jelly. She would start sterilizing the jars and lids. I do not remember how she made the jelly and wish I got her recipe before she passed. I also remember her putting the jars in the pressure cooker. There are so many memories in the fall time of the year. In conclusion, “Blackberry Eating” written by Galway Kinnell brings many memories to my mind. Picking the blackberries, eating the blackberries, and making jelly and cobbler out of blackberries are the memories with my grandparents. These moments are very special to me. Grandmother, Granddaddy and Pa are now passed on and they are just a memory. I wish I can remember every single detail and go back to them days. I will always remember “blackberry-eating in late September” with my grandparents.