The Orange Lady Poem by D.N. Rebb

She loves to dance along
The calm rocky fjord
Her orange dress fluttering like a ghost
She sings a cappella
To no one precisely
Twirls gaily around a weathered sign post

Her husband's gone on tour
On stage now someplace else
She detests feeling bored and out of sync
A little company
At the local saloon
Hey handsome, can ya buy a gal a drink?

An amber spritzer, please
My, don't you have big arms
Bet you can lift me straight up in the air
A magnetic spell's cast
She's in complete control
Poor boy's obliviously trapped in her snare

Always gets what she wants
At last, a full night sleep
Her lover better be gone ‘fore she wakes
An apricot morn' sun
She's smiling once again
But unaware of her careless mistake

Nausea takes over
Severe cramps bring her pain
She retches rhythmic ochre thereafter
Now with child, but unfit
What will her husband think?
Needs to quickly resolve this disaster

The year is nineteen twelve
Adultery's lawful
And bootleg euthanasia's not her thing
A nice childless couple
Can take over this glitch
A magnificent present born next spring

A little girl results
Annita's her name
And the birth mother quickly disappears
Lovely Bergs take her in
Give her a doting home
They won't hear from her for many more years

Our Annita grows up
Falls in love with a man
And follows him all the way to Berlin
First, two cute boys are born
A daughter later on
Midst hostility her country couldn't win

Moves back to Bordesholm
The Berg's home now her own
After the war, her husband joins them too
The depression is on
Lil' money, things are tough
But overall, Annita makes it through

One day there's a message
Claiming she was once hers
And really wants to meet her grandchildren
Annita is nervous
But what is there to lose
And considers to welcome her again

A lady, now older
Sharply knocks on her door
Has brought an orange for the kids to share
Annita warmly smiles
Invites the stranger in
Pictures are taken, but the boys look scared

The old lady's uptight
Not often around kids
And starts telling them her dreary story
As she recounts her tale
Starts to peel the orange
Eats each piece in front of eyes so teary

Oldest lad runs to mom
Tells her what the dame done
The boys had never seen their mother mad
Annita kicks her out
And don't ever come back
Times are tough enough without your mean rad

Citrus peels on the ground
Hastily get cleaned up
The depression deprives vitamin C
What a cruel trick to play
No one will ever know
Why orange lady lacked reality