Oranges - Gary Soto

Oranges
Gary Soto

The first time I walked
With a girl, I was twelve,
Cold, and weighted down
With two oranges in my jacket.
December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then gone,
As I walked toward
Her house, the one whose
Porch light burned yellow
Night and day, in any weather.
A dog barked at me, until
She came out pulling
At her gloves, face bright
With rouge. I smiled,
Touched her shoulder, and led
Her down the street, across
A used car lot and a line
Of newly planted trees,
Until we were breathing
Before a drugstore. We
Entered, the tiny bell
Bringing a saleslady
Down a narrow aisle of goods.
I turned to the candies
Tiered like bleachers,
And asked what she wanted -
Light in her eyes, a smile
Starting at the corners
Of her mouth. I fingered
A nickle in my pocket,
And when she lifted a chocolate
That cost a dime,
I didn't say anything.
I took the nickle from
My pocket, then an orange,
And set them quietly on
The counter. When I looked up,
The lady's eyes met mine,
And held them, knowing
Very well what it was all
About.

Outside,
A few cars hissing past,
Fog hanging like old
Coats between the trees.
I took my girl's hand
In mine for two blocks,
Then released it to let
Her unwrap the chocolate.
I peeled my orange
That was so bright against
The gray of December
That, from some distance,
Someone might have thought
I was making a fire in my hands.

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What I love about this poem is how he lets the images do the work. Each person, place, and thing in this poem is connected to an image. The girl doesn't just come out, she comes out "pulling at her gloves, face bright with rouge." The tiny bell doesn't just ring, it "[brings] a saleslady down a narrow isle of goods." These images add up to the feeling of innocent love conveyed in the poem. It creates the feeling of warmth that it shows in the final image. Not once does he say how he loves the girl or what she might feel about it. In truth, this is very much like a silent film.

While keeping this poem in mind, its techniques and its messages, here are some prompts that you may use to write a poem:

1. What is an experience with a girl that you remember from your childhood. What did you do together? Use images to show everything that happened. Have a beginning and an end, similar to a narrative.
2. Have you ever had a silent understanding with someone? What led up to that experience and what followed it? Use images to show everything that happened.  Have a beginning and an end, similar to a narrative.
3. What was your first experience with someone you love or loved. How did it pan out? What was the season and weather like around you? How did the things around you show the feelings that you felt? Describe.
4. Take a line from this poem and use this in your poem (a title, a first line, or other). Write.
5. What else does this poem remind you of or inspire in you? Write.