Nanette Orange lives and works in Miami, Florida. She is the author of poetry collection, “Soul Whisperings: Poems for Victorious Living” and contributing author to poetry anthologies, The Innocence of Children and Pawsitivity. Her poetry appeared in Westward Quarterly, Hudson View, Poet Express, Survivor’s Review and Scorched Earth Publishing.
Spring 2010
Table of Contents - Vol. VI, No. 1
Nanette Orange
Snubs followed her
as she walked high school halls.
Her Levi's and slender frame
didn't meet the "standards."
Pillows endured her punches
and embraced her midnight sobs,
as she asked,
“What am I lacking?”
High grades and test scores
later led her to Ivy League schools,
summa cum laude status,
and an undefined superiority.
Today, she parades hospital halls
with a stethoscope of arrogance,
acknowledging only employees
with MD's behind their names
and barking at ones
without degrees.
She's practicing medicine;
dressing and healing
patients' wounds,
unaware her own remain open.
I don't mind the silence
in your absence
if you're with me.
It's this silence
in your presence
that stings my ears.
© Nanette Orange
