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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Oranges, Part Three: Pulpy Mess

Here's Part 3 of my poem Oranges for Three Loves. I'll have the conclusion up in a few days.

III. Mid-day Sun

Days left to his virtuous devices,
he fusses over the next, nails digging,
screw-cut peeling its thick rind, picking off
odd pieces of pith to smooth its surface

After would-be idol hours spent preening,
second love, an acid yellow figment,
floats down to him from distant high hilltop
her flopped gold curls mopping a wide pink brow

Fruit in palm extended, he waits his worth
while the orange exposed to mid-day sun
shrivels brown, a collapsed-in pulpy mess
that her passing wave topples uneasy

5 comments:

Dave King said...

Wasn't sure of the last word, angrily, but the rest resonated with something somewhere inside me. Nicely worked out.

zorlone said...

I can see why you posted that status at FB. Someone like me might run out of words, but, I'm sure you'll find yours easily.

Good job! I'm no expert but the words agree with each other. So, when are you going to send me an autograph? he he he!

Francis Scudellari said...

@Dave Thanks so much... and I tried a different word for the ending, but I may tinker with it some more yet.

@Zorlone Thanks, but I don't think my autograph is actually worth very much :)>

Jena Isle said...

Still unrequited love? I would love to read , your own interpretation of the poems. I'm curious if I even came close to the real meaning.

I have read somewhere that a poem is also like a puzzle, that the poet creates and that the reader has to assemble and interpret.

Brilliant poem Francis.

Francis Scudellari said...

@Jena I don't know that I really try to hide that much in the poems. I just try to tell a story... and use some interesting imagery. I'm sure a psycho-analyst could dissect it quite nicely :). And yes, the first two were unrequited, but the last may be the one he's waiting for...