Orange in the Shower

by Lily Thomson

After hearing about it for so long 
I finally ate an orange 
In the shower 

With steam ripened hands I 
Sunk thumb through skin 
Pierced through pith/flesh 
Releasing cool sticky liquid 
And its thick scent like a bomb 
In the bathroom 

Then with hungry fingers I 
Tore the fruit in two like a geode 
Revealing crystalline insides I 
Ripped with teeth 
And ate 
Leaving hollow palms 
Chin/neck 
Throat and a small pool 
Where my collar bones meet 
Seem honeyed from the juice 
All this 
Underneath the unseeing 
Showerhead

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ABOUT THE CREATOR

Lily Thomson (she/they) is a playwright, poet and dramaturg based on Gadigal land. Lily completed an MFA in Writing for Performance in 2024 from NIDA. She is using her skills to work across mediums in theatre, poetry and immersive performance collaborating with organisations and institutions such as the National Film and Sound Archive and the Australian Youth Orchestra and the ANU’s School of Cybernetics.

Instagram: @lily_thsmn

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