Essays, Art and Plays by Dan

The poem:

what I saw was thorns
until one day I passed by
and saw blackberries
— Kelly Shaw

My review:

Critique of a Kelly Shaw Poem by Bluegrass Music Superstar Dan 

“what I saw was thorns”
That line? That’s the hard road, son. That’s every bad break, every barbed wire fence we’ve had to climb just to keep moving. Reminds me of walking through North Carolina fields as a boy—nothing but brambles and the devil’s own snare. It’s honest. It hurts a little. Kinda like pluckin’ a banjo when your fingers are raw—you do it anyway, because the music’s in you.

“until one day I passed by”
Now we got a shift—and that’s life, ain’t it? You keep moving, even when it cuts you. This line’s a footstep. It’s the sound of a man not giving up, maybe humming a tune with a bent blues harmonica. Or sittin’ on a porch, pickin’ slow on a banjo till the clouds roll by. Something’s changing.

“and saw blackberries”
And then—bam. Redemption. That’s the good stuff. That’s the sweet fruit on the other side of sorrow. Just like a love you almost gave up on, or a song that took twenty years to write. There’s still thorns, sure—but now there’s something more. That’s a grace note, right at the end. Like the high lonesome ring of a banjo roll that lifts you clean outta your troubles.

What I’d Say in the Studio:
This is a three-chord truth, right here. Ain’t fancy, don’t need to be. It’s got soul. You might tweak a line for rhythm if you’re singing it—but for the page, it’s pure bluegrass haiku.

https://thehaikufoundation.org/revirals-500/