There are Always Blackberries, There is Always Sugar – Mathieu Cailler

For Mary Oliver

every day, 
I wake up,

see the newspaper’s
front page

and think
about penning
humanity's obituary,

but then
I notice
the blackberries
that begin to sprout
along my fence line

and wish to stick around
for them

to toss the fruits
of their labor

in lemon juice

and dust them

with sugar

Mathieu Cailler is an award-winning writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and children’s books. His work has appeared in numerous national and international publications, including The Saturday Evening Post and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of six books, his most recent being the novel, Heaven and Other Zip Codes (Open Books), winner of the 2021 Los Angeles Book Festival Prize.