# Battered Orange



## dannyboy (Sep 7, 2015)

Holding the orange, peeled and whole,
out towards her nose, close but not touching,
his eyes peeled also, dead like the rind,
his lips round with hate, with spite, with contempt.

The juice runs between his fingers,
the pulp oozes, the sound below the capability of ears
but present nevertheless like death
residing in the first thumps of being.

He wipes his hands on her clothes,
her face and in her hair, ruining the look
she had sought that morning and he turns,
leaving without closing the door.

There is no blood, just juice,
the ruin of an orange on the floor,
the rind curling like the discarded skin 
of grown snake around her bare feet.

He will return
and she will let him
the way the orange has no choice
but hangs from the branch
lost in a deception
innocence and fear have no account for.


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## David... (Sep 15, 2015)

This is another taboo subject. I like the orange as the focus of the anger.
Ever thought of making the orange a metaphor for the woman and seeing where you could go with it. Just a thought.

David...


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## Sonata (Sep 15, 2015)

The poem is worded in a way that is almost visual and real.  As I read it I could "see" it happening, "smell" the scent of the orange peel and juice, and "feel" the stickiness of the juice.  

The first two lines of the final stanza made me want to say "please do not let him back in".


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## dannyboy (Sep 15, 2015)

Thank you both for your replies. 

David I started out with the orange as the metaphor for the woman but it kind of changed along the way...the way poems do that.
Sonata I think visual is the best starting place for a poem.


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## Bard_Daniel (Sep 15, 2015)

What a treat! The analogy between the orange and the woman was spectacular.

Keep it up!


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## dannyboy (Sep 16, 2015)

thank you danielstj


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## Gumby (Sep 16, 2015)

Holy cow, danny! You are back with a vengeance, it seems.  No nits at all, just admiration.


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## dannyboy (Sep 19, 2015)

ta Gumby.


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## Firemajic (Sep 30, 2015)

OOOoooohh... nooo.. okkkk.. this hurts.&%^##&^**!!$#....


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## Chesters Daughter (Sep 30, 2015)

Good Lord, this is sheer perfection. The use of a simple orange to provoke such complicated emotions is brilliant, and up until now, I would have thought almost impossible to pull off. Far more insidiously malevolent and demeaning than an actual strike would have been. Likening the rind to snake skin speaks volumes as did the truth of the final stanza. Kudos, Danny, and thank you. 

Lisa


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## Amnesiac (Sep 30, 2015)

Wow... Visceral and haunting. Very nice work!


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## dannyboy (Sep 30, 2015)

Thank you Firemajic, Chester's Daughter (nice to see hear from you again) and Amnesiac.


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## shedpog329 (Oct 1, 2015)

Interesting twist on life and aging, which is what I'm guessing the metaphor was about.  Nice job


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