I.

if say there were a moment past

that which inward turned my eye

then it may have only been a second

that then promptly lapsed your mind

yet the memory to me is fiberglass

glowing hazy in the orange lights

to this day its sweetness beckons

like the aroma of a citrus rind

II.

when i laid my head upon your shoulder

my pulp fleshed out a world

where you held me gingerly then pressed my skin

to a grater to zest me bare

and then you peeled me to bite me deep

and juice me down your throat

waste me none you plant my seeds

and in a year i begin to sprout

and in a decade i an orange tree

bear fruit for you to eat

i grow my branches to touch that shoulder

and you love me an eternity

III.

i return firm rooted in the ground

now transplanted down the hall

you peel me an orange half at lunch

that becomes a lump in my throat

a year passes and i come around

in a decade i care none at all

yet there still lingers a bitter punch

like the flavor of a citrus coat