The Orange
by Wendy Cope
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled it and shared it with Robert and Dave—
They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all my jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.
- At first, when I saw this poem, I was curious about the poem because of its title. The title made me to read this poem. “The Orange,” by Wendy Cope is about the enjoyment that she feels in a day. The author compared a huge orange to ordinary things often do. She reveals her happiness by listing ordinary things that she does, such as shopping, a walk in the park. She expressed her feeling when she peeled a huge orange to share; she compared her enjoyment to peace and contentment. That last sentence in second stanza shows really well how the author feels comfort. Afterwards, the author represented rest of her day by using her ease mind. Also, I can feel how easy the author finished all of her work because she had positive mind and actually enjoyed her work. At the end of the poem, she reveals her mind, “I’m glad I exist.” This sentence shows everything can go well if we have positive mind and have thankful mind about our existence. This poem shows me how the author enjoys her happiness in her life. Compared to the people in the world, many of them are stressed and get tired of work; I think the author tries to help them to become happy as her.
