Orange

On a February afternoon

next to a frosted window

I split the peel

the tang of Florida

lodging under my nails

the explosion is dramatic

juicy droplets

sparkling on my hands

as I pry it open

the sweet, slurping sound says

this orange is hungry for me

welcoming half-globes

spread wide open

the sticky wrapping in pieces

in the bowl

white-yellow pulp bits clinging

to my fingers

 

 

 

Issa M. Lewis: I am a graduate of New England College’s MFA in Poetry program and currently teach composition at Davenport University. I was the 2013 recipient of the Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize, and my poems have previously appeared in Tule Review, Jabberwock, Blue Lyra Review, Pearl, and Naugatuck River Review.