I always gathered
spring greens
with Gram
down by Mission Creek
we would climb
those steep banks
picking
dock
dandelion
lamb’s quarter
sheep sorrel
poke weed
and nettles
using knowledge
handed down
from mother to daughter
from England and Ireland
now with Gram dead
and a mother who got too sophisticated
become uncertain
can’t quite remember
how many times do I boil the poke
and was it the leaves or the berries?
