by Ali Lewis (b. 1990)

Language: English 
Oranges on her head and oranges in her hand,
flowers on a yellow poncho.
She’s so much smaller than her clothes.

I don’t know why she's in my house apart from I put her there.
Is it her one free hand, or the way
she stacks so many things
the wrong shape for balancing?

Or how she shifts her weight to cope
when she makes a sale, and an orange,
or many oranges, are taken away?


Composition:

    Set to music by Héloïse Werner (b. 1991), "The Orange Vendor" [ mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano ]

Text Authorship:

  • by Ali Lewis (b. 1990), "The Orange Vendor", subtitle: "After Natalia Goncharova"

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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-18
Line count: 10
Word count: 72