My flesh pulls apart. Skin Breaks. I do not bleed, why? Oh. I am not ripe yet.
Fingernails break through my exterior, carving me open. Grubby fingers pull out my veins, inspect my capillaries. Then I am crushed crushed between teeth. I become nothing. Ground down, swallowed like I never existed.
I am sour to the taste, chalk on a tongue. My unripe body makes me difficult to chew. I get twisted up in the teeth, stuck in the gums. Chewed and chewed until I am gone.
You’re teeth are rotting and still you chew. Cavity filled husks, you don’t brush after you finish with me. The other oranges you’ve consumed are still trapped between your teeth. I brush against them as I am consumed, wondering if they felt the way I do.
Where is my peel? Where is my skin? We are separated. I am swallowed and it is discarded. I am consumed and it is not. I, destined for a journey into the dark. It, destined for the dirt. I do not know which fate is worse.
Hello dear reader, thank you for spending your time to read my work! I hope to see you again sometime. I’m not sure what inspired this piece other than I was eating an orange and words began to emerge in my mind. It was not initially going to be an allegory, now it seems to have many meanings.
Anyway, I hope to see you again soon!
Jo
i never thought i'd feel sad for oranges 🥹 but here we are
I’ll never look at an orange the same way again — amazing piece!!