Day 7 poetry challenge

I am floundering - finding this project difficult. I missed yesterday, sorry. I would not be able to do this at all if I had to follow the prompts so I will just submit when I can, whatever comes to mind and Passes Through. My offering for today is based on the colour orange.

Contemplating Orange

 

Driving in darkness, past Balzac gas flare

Along highway where earlier, convicts in orange coveralls
Picked orange peels, orange crush cans, broken plastic pylons
Put debris in orange utility garbage bags,
And drank Gatorade.
 

Eerie orange halo glows above distant city.

Soon long rows of streetlights – who called this shade of orange “amber”?
Reflect orange on dark wet streets
As 1974 orange Volkswagon Wesfalia hippy van
Speeds through orange light,
Hits Florida orange truck,
Valencia, Mandarin, Sunkist, Tangerine, Kumquat
Roll aimlessly into gutter filled with orange autumn leaves.

Young man with orange hair – is that on purpose or dye job gone wrong?

From nearby market behind orange brick wall runs to gather spills,
To sell with peppers, carrots, peaches, papaya, lobsters
As orange flashing tow truck lights approach
On the scene, police officers
Put on orange safety vests and direct traffic,
Orange tip on flashlights making zig-zag lines of orange in the darkness.
 

Beside the market, near the smashed Westfalia

Rows of terra cotta pots, overflow with nasturtiums,
Marigolds, poppies, tiger lilies and crates of pumpkins,
Waiting to become pumpkin pie or Jack-o-lanterns
Eerily glowing from orange candle flame inside.
To be set on porch railings against a harvest moon

This is wrong.

Oranges should not litter streets
But should be mixed with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
To make Christmas pomanders, flavour orange tea,
And mix with cranberries in favourite muffins for dessert
After winter meals of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches,
Or toast with apricot preserves.
Before the cozy fire in the hearth
No orange sherbet, coconut shrimp or mimosa this time of year.

 On my way once more I ponder orange

An orange tabby cat called Marmalade
Three hundred pound pumpkin its owner nicknamed Shrek
Sunrise, sunset, orange canaries singing happy orange notes
And why are goldfish not called orange fish?
Bright orange frogs are highly poisonous.
Did you know that eating only carrots turns your skin orange?
Or that ladies of a certain age mustn’t wear orange tinted lipstick
Because it makes their teeth look dull?
 

Knock knock

Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I wrote this poem.
How can that be
Nothing in the English language rhymes with orange.
Throw me a life-jacket please.