Digging my fingers into the sunset hued peel,
a singular spit of juice arcs toward my eye;
I instantly pinch my eyes shut
as I feel the tiny cold splat hit right above
my right eyebrow.
Undaunted, I continue the quest
and tear into the tightly affixed rind.
Finger tips begin to sting as the acid
flesh pierces and injects my skin through
miniscule wounds.
Why didn’t I use the peeler or a knife?
Instead I wrestle and tug at that dang peel
and it almost punctures me as much as
I do it. Finally the last of it gives way
and I delight in sampling the first, succulent juiciness
even as some dribbles down to my elbow.
Today Victoria is our hostess at dVerse Poets and “implores” us to use verbs to liven up our writing. http://dversepoets.com/2014/01/16/banish-boredom-rx-verbs/#respond
brian miller
/ January 16, 2014mmm…when we lived in florida we had an orange tree…and on saturday mornings my son and i used to go sit under it by the lake and eat them until we were stuffed…it was amazing…ha…enjoy it…
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Bodhirose
/ January 16, 2014We had orange trees growing all through my neighborhood when growing up. The neighbors let us have our fill whenever we kids needed a snack. It was pretty amazing. Thanks, Brian.
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Victoria C. Slotto
/ January 16, 2014The trees are loaded with oranges right now and this makes me want to sneak out into the night and grab one. Great use of verbs and I didn’t find it having too many adjectives…but then, I’m an adjective addict.
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Bodhirose
/ January 16, 2014Nothing like a nice, juicy, sweet orange…we have an abundance of them here too. Thank you, Victoria…this was fun to do.
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alan1704
/ January 17, 2014IT is all worth it when we experience the nectar and taste the sweetness. Nicely done
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014How right you are…thanks so much, Alan.
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Jacqueline King
/ January 17, 2014Excellent imagery, Gayle, I can almost taste your victory! 🙂
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014Well thank you, Jacqueline…and so nice to have you visit again. Little Mira and I shared a tangerine this morning…citrus is abundant here in Florida. 🙂
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Ronald E. Shields
/ January 17, 2014plenty of verbs here to peel a truculent orange…and it always dribbles down to the elbow.
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014Thanks, Ronald…and yes that juice almost always dribbles down something. 🙂
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Mary
/ January 17, 2014Beautiful! There is nothing like a VERY fresh orange straight from the tree. I envy those who have the opportunity to savor them THAT fresh. Your verbs work very well to strengthen this piece.
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014I appreciate your high praise, Mary…thank you. Yes, I realize how fortunate I am to have access to this fruit year round…it is so good.
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Kathryn Dyche Dechairo
/ January 17, 2014Oooh that struggle with the rind only to be rewarded by the dribble down the chin. 🙂
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014I really did have a struggle peeling an orange recently and then wondered why I didn’t use something easier than my fingers… But that reward was worth it. Thank you, Kathryn.
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Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
/ January 17, 2014The battle of the Orange— victorious.. with your verbs you became the conquerer.
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014Well thank you, Bjorn…yes, victorious on both counts. 🙂
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wolfsrosebud
/ January 17, 2014you had me for a bit… sounds like a lot of work… LOL
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Bodhirose
/ January 17, 2014It was too much work…my fingers were sore for a few days!
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Akila
/ January 20, 2014can feel the juice running down the fingers to the palm and well i dont mind licking it
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Bodhirose
/ January 22, 2014Me either!
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