Sour Mulberries

Sometimes I wonder

If the mulberries I picked as a child

Tasted sour or sweet.

The red stains on Madeline’s hands,

The silkworms kept in a shoebox, wriggling.

Were they ever sweet?

Did you enjoy watching me climb?

Lifting me to the taller branches,

Hoping that one day in the future I will remember these moments,

And forgive you for this world of sour mulberries.