Oranges

“Oranges” is a 56-line poem based on an actual experience Soto had as a boy (see Contextual Analysis). The poem details a 12-year-old boy's first date with a girl he is trying to impress. The poem vividly captures their walk to the drugstore in the winter, the boy’s successful attempt to treat the girl, his skillful avoidance of potential humiliation, as well as the actions of the saleswoman at the store. It is a narrative of infatuation, quick thinking, self-sacrifice, and kindness.

All narrative poems have a beginning, a middle, and an end, operating almost like a work of fiction. This poem is positioned as a memory since the speaker notes “I was twelve” and the events are relayed in past tense. That the memory is a happy one isn’t immediately apparent. At first, Soto paints a picture of a gloomy winter day: The temperature is low enough that the boy can hear “Frost cracking” (Line 5) and see his own “breath / Before me, then gone” (Lines 6-7) as he walks. At first, the reader doubts this could be a pleasant errand and wonders if “the first time I walked / With a girl” (Lines 1-2) turns out badly.

However, a glimmer of hope arises at the girl’s house “whose / Porchlight burned yellow / Night and day, in any weather” (Line 10-11). The portmanteau word "porchlight" (usually a two-word phrase) literally ties the girl's house to illumination—the opposite of the gray wintry day. The “yellow” further builds warmer feelings of hope and possibility, as that hue often symbolizes happiness. One obstacle is the girl’s dog, whose barking at the boy foreshadows challenges to come. Will the boy be rejected? When the girl comes out, however, the dog quiets. The girl is happy to see the boy, and she has prepared for their date: She is ready for the cold walk, and is “pulling / At her gloves” (Lines 13-14), and her cheeks are “bright / With rouge” (Lines 14-15).

Assuming a position of gentlemanly chivalry, the boy “Touched her shoulder, and led / Her down the street” (Lines 16-17). This tap suggests he is not being too forward but making sure she knows the direction they are going. The poem gently lets readers see the socio-economic circumstances of the kids: Their destination is a drugstore that lies past a “used car lot and a line / Of newly planted trees” (Lines 19-20). This shows that despite the fact that they are in a poorer section of town, there is new growth and possibility available.

The speaker’s entrance into the drugstore heightens the sense of economic stress. The place is oppressive, with a “the tiny bell / Bringing a saleslady” (Lines 22-23) so the kids are under surveillance while perusing the drugstore's “narrow aisle of goods” (Line 24). However, the silver lining of the place is “candies / Tiered like bleachers” (Lines 25-26). The boy’s concentration on the sweets correlates with his attention to the girl's attractiveness: Once again resuming his gallantry, he asks the girl “what she wanted” (Line 27). This tiny offer is, especially in their limited world, a grand gesture, creating “Light in her eyes, a smile / at the corner of her mouth” (Lines 28-29). As she looks, the boy fingers “A nickel in my pocket” (31), his only money. His distress is clear: If he can't afford to pay for the treat he's just offered her, he will lose face and the date will be ruined. However, he does not protest when the girl “lifted a chocolate / That cost a dime” (Lines 33-34), eager to maintain his romantic chivalry.

The boy must think quickly to solve the problem and secure the prize for the girl. He makes a bold decision: He "took the nickel from / My pocket, then an orange” (Lines 35-36), offering them to the saleswoman. The boy knows that this is not correct payment, but he hopes that the adult will be gracious and generous with the two children. There is a moment of trepidation as the boy and the saleswoman communicate wordlessly: “The lady’s eyes met mine / and held them” (Lines 39-40). Will she respect his need for dignity and assist him, or throw him out of the store? Here, the poem shifts time frames, as the now-adult speaker breaks in to point out that doubtless, the woman knew very well “what it was all / About” (Lines 41-42)—"it" here being the poverty of the children, the hopes and dreams of first romance, and the crushing blow she could inflict on the boy's sense of self. As an adult, the speaker can empathize with both himself as a boy and the adult woman working in the shop, whose job is probably at least somewhat dependent on not simply giving out its goods for free.

The poem does not reveal the saleswoman's decision immediately. Instead, flash forward in time, to an image of the boy and the girl outside the store, walking again. At first, the dismal outdoors suggests failure: There are a “few cars hissing past” (Line 44) and “fog hung like old / Coats” (Lines 45-46). Yet, a subtle shift has occurred. The boy has won, we realize, as he takes “my girl’s hand / In mine” (Lines 47-48). The descriptor “my” indicates a new connection between them—date has turned into relationship. We now get confirmation that the saleswoman aided the boy: He lets go the girl's hand so she can “unwrap the chocolate” (Line 50). The boy, willing to forgo any chocolate of his own, “peeled my orange” (Line 51). While the “gray of December” (Line 53) remains, the fruit the boy holds is “so bright” (Line 52), he's convinced that “Someone might have thought / I was making a fire in my hands” (Lines 55-56). The bright fiery color of the orange, like that of the earlier “porchlight” (Line 10) indicates warmth and hope despite the gloomy surroundings. “Oranges” shows that the boy’s gallant actions and quick thinking pay off in the experience of joy he creates for the girl he likes. His self-sacrifice, aided by the kind saleswoman’s generosity, shows that kindness and not money lights the day.