A Simple Poem, And A Profound Message: Exploring Wendy Cope’s “The Orange”
Wendy Cope is a poet of modern times. She was born in Erith, Kent. She spent fifteen years teaching primary school in London after graduating from college. She has published five collections of her poems: Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis in 1986, Serious Concerns in 1992, If I Don’t Know in 2001, Family Values in 2011, and Anecdotal Evidence in 2018.
Her observation of the commonplace, everyday elements of life is exceptionally sharp, particularly when it comes to the emotions of the common man, and daily life. I like her poem, The Orange.
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 the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.
