coming to that time of year
to go picking sloes
deep in the hedges
avoiding thorns
capturing the small dark fruit
my dad loved sloe gin
in midwinter
said it warmed him
deep in his bones
so i’d gather sloes
spend time pricking them
packing them tight in bottles
a touch of sugar
brown for the taste
& then the gin
as it would be his christmas gift
i’d pour a decent gin
& of course
this years make
was next years present
give the gin time to make
after a years soak
i’d sieve the mix
gussy up some nice label
just to make it his
he has gone now
ten years, more
& all the sloe gin is gone too
all the years of make
& I don’t go deep
this time of year
in the hedgerows
no longer need fear the thorns
because I cant abide
the taste of sloe gin
neilbenbow 