Of Oranges and Plums | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Free Verse
  4. Of Oranges and Plums

Of Oranges and Plums

September 4, 2013
By Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
More by this author
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile

The wicker basket
brimmed with
plump oranges
sits on your

cold granite
counter-top
untouched
like I gave it

to you last week
A layer of
woolly dust
swathes each orange

you did not
peel
or slice
or juice

I however
did enjoy
the purple plum
chilled and sweet

that you gave me
yesterday
when I asked you
for it

© Amber L., Carpinteria, CA

The author's comments:
"This Is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams inspired me to write this. It's rather nonsensical. Tell me what you think it means. (By the way, thanks to Jade for pointing out from the first draft that oranges can't be "plumped" but plump. >.>)
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
Lightning
By Rachel Bellah BRONZE
Seattle, Washington
Rachel Bellah BRONZE, Seattle, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
My New Beginning
By delaney95 GOLD
St. Charles, Missouri
delaney95 GOLD, St. Charles, Missouri
11 articles 5 photos 5 comments
View profile
Poetry
Death At Your Door
By sHaDoWnInJa PLATINUM
West Jordan, Utah
sHaDoWnInJa PLATINUM, West Jordan, Utah
31 articles 0 photos 3 comments
View profile
Poetry
Do It Now!
By Lost-In-Life GOLD
Whitby, Other
Lost-In-Life GOLD, Whitby, Other
11 articles 0 photos 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
It&#039;s never to late, if it weren&#039;t for the last minute many things would never get done!

View profile
Poetry
I want a guy...
By grlgotgame BRONZE
Chillicothe, Ohio
grlgotgame BRONZE, Chillicothe, Ohio
4 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Girls with butts like mine, don&#039;t talk to boys with faces like yours.&quot;

View profile
Poetry
Cracked vase
By Dale CROUCH PLATINUM
JOPLIN, Missouri
Dale CROUCH PLATINUM, JOPLIN, Missouri
29 articles 9 photos 0 comments
View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 14 comments.

Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 18 2016 at 4:03 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
Thank you!! That's so wonderful for you to think so.
GonzaloTovilla BRONZE said...
on Sep. 17 2014 at 9:27 pm
GonzaloTovilla BRONZE, Richardson, Texas
1 article 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;In writing, you must kill all your darlings?&quot;<br /> -William Faulkner

View profile
i enjoyed this poem. This is a great example of how poems should be written.
Mckay ELITE said...
on Jul. 27 2014 at 8:06 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
Thank you! Really appreciate it. 
nithyaswaminathan BRONZE said...
on Jul. 27 2014 at 2:23 am
nithyaswaminathan BRONZE, Pleasanton, California
2 articles 0 photos 59 comments
View profile
I choose to interpret this poem as a relationship in which one person is putting far more effort than the other....really connected with me, thanks for writing, nice job on editors choice!
Mckay ELITE said...
on Apr. 18 2014 at 6:46 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
Thanks :) Always appreciate (did I spell that right? I'm loosing it.) your feedback. 
TheSkyOwesMeRain GOLD said...
on Dec. 9 2013 at 1:33 am
TheSkyOwesMeRain GOLD, Irvine, California
13 articles 1 photo 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn&#039;t measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments which take your breath away.<br /> <br /> You are only as strong as your weakest link.

View profile
This is amazing, wow... the subtle almost-friendly accusation near the end with the plum compared to the oranges was brilliantly executed (for lack of a better word :P)! I really love it :)
Mckay ELITE said...
on Oct. 31 2013 at 1:51 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Truly appreciate it.
SpringRayyn PLATINUM said...
on Oct. 25 2013 at 6:48 pm
SpringRayyn PLATINUM, Lakeville, Minnesota
34 articles 2 photos 658 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Don&#039;t punish yourself,&quot; she heard her say again, but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness too. That was writing.&quot;<br /> --Markus Zusak, &quot;The Book Thief&quot;

View profile
I think your poem is thought provoking and interesting. I like how one gave the other a whole bowl of oranges and the other gave the one just a plumb. It's like that's all it takes to make the one happy. Nice work!
Mckay ELITE said...
on Oct. 1 2013 at 4:31 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
Hey, LaChouette. Thanks for reading this piece and for taking the time to fathom its meaning. I've never thought about it in the way you mentioned. Now, that I read it again, I see what you're saying. Thank you for giving another meaning to this poem. 
LaChouette GOLD said...
on Sep. 21 2013 at 3:51 pm
LaChouette GOLD, Mount Vernon, New York
12 articles 0 photos 146 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;And then there are the times when the wolves are silent and the moon is howling.&rdquo;<br /> - George Carlin

View profile
Hmm... (this is me thinking of the meaning of your poem). I really like this piece. Your construction of it really draws you in and makes the parts you want to stand out stand out. I think you did a very good job with it. As for the meaning...
I get the sense of under- appreciation or 'mine-is-better-than-yours' kind of thing. I'm not sure why, but this is what I think when I read this. It feels as if the person who gave the other the plum has an attitude that they're better than the other. The person who gave the oranges to the other, I feel kind of knows this, but doesn't want to say anything so they still accept the plum. 
Mckay ELITE said...
on Sep. 18 2013 at 6:53 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
That is one interpretation I hadn't really thought of when I wrote this. Nonetheless, I love it. Thank you, Krasota. 
Carpe-Caffeam GOLD said...
on Sep. 17 2013 at 7:27 pm
Carpe-Caffeam GOLD, No Where, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 444 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;If it weren&rsquo;t for the coffee, I&rsquo;d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.&rdquo; &ndash;David Letterman

View profile
I feel like this poem's talking about someone friend-zoning another person, but they're being nice about it. That's what I got out of this excellent piece ^_^ Yet again, congrats on the award! You deserve it. :)
Mckay ELITE said...
on Sep. 14 2013 at 4:02 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.&quot;<br /> &mdash;Apple&rsquo;s &ldquo;Think Different&rdquo; commercial, 1997<br /> &ldquo;Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn&#039;t understood.&rdquo; <br /> ― Weihui Zhou

View profile
I do hope they become more regular with me. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I always appreciate them. And yeah, this time I did capitalize the I's.
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 13 2013 at 11:48 pm
SaphiraBrightscales DIAMOND, Islamabad, Other
75 articles 16 photos 1136 comments

Favorite Quote:
I&#039;ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. <br /> - Maya Angelou <br /> When i was little/I used to point a chubby finger toward the dark sky/And ask my father/why some stars moved and others didn&rsquo;t/He would laugh and explain that some were airplanes/I still wish on them today ~ Laugh-It-Out<br /> The feathers of a crow are black/The ink of my pen is blacker/The pain of my heart is blackest~ Mckay<br /> If love produced a blossom/I&rsquo;d take it in my palm/What a blessing, the bright color!/How soothing, such a balm!/I&rsquo;d keep a petal for my own/The rest, drop from my hands/For such a flower would multiply/And populate the lands~ thesilentraven<br /> And I began to rival legends/Long entombed before my birth./But for all my much envied fame/The lust for more would not abate./The plaques and prizes with my name/Will, like all things, disintegrate. ~ TheEpic95 now known as Helena_Noel

View profile
Mckay, you perfect poet. It's like these check marks have become a regular with you. Well, congratultions I shall never forget :P No matter how regular it becomes. And it should, I am so proud of you. You deserve more published work. This poem made me smile a lot. I loved loved the story and the structure added symmetry and life to it. The last two stanzas : Epic.  I don't think there's anything I could point out except this time you capitalized your "I's ?? ....Love always, Dua.