An Orange Girl

I have so many favourite things
like I love lemon meringue pie
have done ever since I can remember
it marks the close of my birthday each year
with it's fizzy popping sweet and sourness
white swirls and sparkling peaks above
and soft wobbly lemon wonder below
it is the queen of all the desserts to me

And I just love the colour orange
ever since the moment as a young girl
that I was told that it is a colour
but it is also a thing
so you can hold it
touch it
smell it
taste it
be splashed by it
how many colours can you do that with
come on now ...
that is seriously cool
in fact way cool :)

You can never be sure
how a series of events will unfold
and so when you asked me
about my colour preference
I had to own up to this
this childlike love of orange
which persists even to this day
and I know it hardly goes with anything
so I put it with everything
because it makes me smile

I got a package the other day
unfamiliar writing outside
but addressed to me
and on opening
there
orange tissue paper
layer upon layer
of orangeness
and underneath
more paper
and more anticipation
then underneath again
ah now
how can I explain

Only by telling you this
something of who I am
and who I am not
I am not a pretty one
or a girlie girl
just me
and so I don't own
much jewellery
but here, lying here
are earrings and bracelet both
orange, silver and shiny black
and perfect
so perfect.

On to an hour later
I am out and about
talking with some friends
I am waving my arm around
waggling my head back and forth
I am grinning from ear to ear
because I am an orange girl
a happy orange girlie girl
which makes me smile
you do that

Do you know
I take you with me
so many days these days
I just look at my wrist
twist it this way and that
seeing the beauty and care
this proof of you there
there, already I am smiling
and thinking of you
and being thankful
all over again.

7 comments:

  1. Oh Jos, this is so beautiful! I know this feeling. Magnificent! Beautiful! As you are.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love orange, but it doesn't like me in clothing. Remember back in the day when we had our 'colors done'? When the lady put the orange cloth next to my face, I looked sick. I'm a pink sort of girl, but I do admire anyone who can wear orange. Aren't unexpected packages just awesome? Love & Blessings!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sweetie, they were a blessing to create. As I said before, you were the muse, beautiful and girlie and orange it became. I am tearful that such a simple thing could bring such happiness. You deserve this. More to come :) (Shhhh now. You can't stop me)

    Love
    annie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jos, this is wonderful! Happy like my paintings. Now I know what color to make your painting :-).
    I love orange too, but I love so many colors none can be a favorite, I love orange with EVERYTHING! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lemon meringue pie and orange. :) i cannot believe it, and then there's cherry pie and purple. so many favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha! See? Now there are three Annies! All of them brilliant in very distinct ways. Yes and I do love cherry pie too ... pretty much all pies :-) and paintings, and jewellery ... as long as they're created by people that I have such a high regard for.

    Marion I am with you. Pink suits me too ... in fact much better. But orange makes me smile so. Even if it is underneath. I know it's there.

    Dana I am ... but only if you are too. Right? We are. Except you are more so. Don't argue. xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Do you know, orange is my favorite color, too. I read in one of those rolled up horoscopes that you get from a bubble-gum-type vending machine that RED was supposed to be my favorite color. And for a while, as a little girl, I believed it. But as I grew older, I realized that red is just a little too showy for me. I much prefer orange and its warm, cheery glow. I once had a room painted in orange, and when the sun reflected off the walls, it felt like standing in a sunset.

    Thank you for your beautiful messages and visits, dear Jos. I wish you the most glorious of summers filled with laughter and love. xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete