Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The Love of an Orange, Dahlia Ravikovitch


The Love of an Orange

BY DAHLIA RAVIKOVITCH
An orange did love   
The man who ate it.   
A feast for the eyes   
Is a fine repast;   
Its heart held fast   
His greedy gaze.   

A citron did scold:   
I am wiser than thou.   
A cedar condoled:   
Indeed thou shalt die!   
And who can revive   
A withered bough?   

The citron did urge:   
O fool, be wise.   
The cedar did rage:   
Slander and sin!   
Repent of thy ways   
For a fool I despise.   

An orange did love   
With life and limb   
The man who ate it,   
The man who flayed it.   

An orange did love   
The man who ate it,   
To its flayer it brought   
Flesh for the teeth.   

An orange, consumed   
By the man who ate it,   
Invaded his skin   
To the flesh beneath.

Source: Poetry (April 2009).

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