Isabel

Grade 11 – Mrs. Atwater

4/4/23

Free Verse

 

Not A Poem About Oranges

 

I’ve seen so many poems about oranges.

They’re so bright and sunny—

Made to be pulled apart and shared.

But I’d rather write about

The thieving hands that sneak

Into my lunchbox every day

To snatch up my bag of Goldfish.

Or the way I’ll always ask,

“Do you want a pretzel?”

Or the Ritz crackers I place in

Open mouths salt side down.

Or the Girl Scout cookies I hand out

Every time I find a bag of them 

Tucked in next to my bagel.

Or Crumbl cookies hastily cut

In fourths in the back of a car

On the way to a volleyball game.

Or Merenda sandwiches toasted by

A panini press in an illegal beach house.

Or Greek salad made by the grandma

With the twinkling eyes.

Or the person I gave my unfinished cookie,

Sprite, chicken, pizza crusts.

*In case you are interested, here are a few poems about oranges:

https://gladdestthing.com/poems/the-orange

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E699DWkXIAIbRSs.jpg

https://www.rattle.com/abundance-by-amy-schmidt/

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=35513