I spent the summer after high school in Wülfrath, Germany, living with a wonderful host family and immersing myself in all things Deutsch. At some point, however, I must have hungered for some English, or at least got bored, because I scribbled down this poem. Clearly Shakespeare I am not, as some of the rhymes and rhythms are quite painfully forced, but oh well. It still makes me giggle.
Ode to an Orange
Oh, beauty sweet beyond any compare,
I love to eat you in the morning sun.
Much better than an apple or a pear,
Once more I eat you when the day is done.
I love to peal your bright orange skin away
And see the fruit that’s waiting there for me.
Bananas may be good for just one day,
But you I eat for all eternity.
We buy at least a dozen every time
We go into the great big groc’ry store.
I wish that you would cost only a dime,
‘Cause then I could afford so many more.
Oh sweet and tender orange, I love you so
In rain or sun or sleet or even snow.
Fun! I think it would be even stronger if it ended with “But you I eat for all eternity!”
True. But remember, I wrote this at 17. Clearly I wasn’t as marvelously adept at Shakespearean poetry as I am today. Oh wait. I’m not good at it today, either.