The Orange by Wendy Cope
The Orange
Wendy CopeAt lunchtime I bought a huge orange—
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I got a half.And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.
MARGINALIA
1.
The days feel like the air is heavy with water. I was drowning through so much grief and death in the world. How do I go on as if we haven’t lost so much?
2.
Do you ever get that, the remembering? You have forgotten that there is another side of you, another version of yourself that’s not so bad, but it’s been so long. And then one day, you suddenly remember, and how that blooms in your chest like an orange suddenly there, on the counter, a pleasant surprise? It sucks out all your breath for a second—then it comes rushing back, and there it is. Yourself that’s not yourself, but that’s also a part of you.
3.
Which is to say: I slept the whole day today. When I woke up, the space between the things I’ve done in my life and the person I am seems to be smaller now.
4.
What else can I do but continue to love?
KEEP READING
SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Serious Concern by Wendy Cope, published by Faber and Faber, 1992. (Available on: Amazon • Bookshop)
ABOUT WENDY COPE
Wendy Cope was raised in Kent, England, where her parents often recited poetry to her. She earned a BA in history and trained as a teacher at Oxford University. Cope’s poetry collections include Serious Concerns (1992); If I Don’t Know (2001), shortlisted for the Whitbread Poetry Award; Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979–2006 (2008); Family Values (2011); Christmas Poems (2017), a collection of new and previously published Christmas-themed work;… (more)
Read more poems by Wendy Cope • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
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Robert Goodrich
The Young Woman on Youth Sunday
Like a young doe emerging into an open field,
she stands erect, alert, wide-eyed, motionless,
driven out by hunger, but hoping to disappear
into the silence of the sanctuary.
Who is not drawn to her there,
sensing dangers she does not yet comprehend?
Another young woman at the podium
speaks of the mystical experience
of encountering animals in the wild.
We, middle aged or worse,
are having our own mystical encounter
with the heartbreaking beauty of youth
on the cusp of experience.
sparkybakewell
Gosh, how this resonates with me ” … the space between the things I’ve done in my life and the person I am …”