orange on the beach in November

how strange

that the smell

of the inside of this tiny orange’s peel

as the sun settles into the sea

and i sit on the cold sand

and hold the peel over my nose

is captured so perfectly -

 

sweet citric sugar, bitter rind, air-floating oil,

and outside of it,

salted air, and organic matter abandoned by its anima

 

…is captured so perfectly

by a sugar-crusted orange wedge gel candy

from a clear plastic tub,

impossibly darker and thicker than any citrus fruit could ever be.

 

or is memory not to be trusted