Orange Zest
I looked down at the orange in my hand.
The clean fresh scent drifts up and encircles me.
An orange hug, a fresh embrace.
The peel in my hand is bright and thick and colorful.
It’s skin when scraped against the grater yields, zest.
Rubbed raw against the grater, the outside is sweet, bright, clean, fragrant.
The skin protects its juicy flesh.
Now the juice escapes, dripping down between my fingers.
I slowly squeeze the orange.
The outer skin, the zest, holds the essence of sweetness.
There is sweetness in being cared for, sweetness in being loved and loving.
We find sweetness in our individual lives, our loved ones and in loving ourselves.
Joyful moments we embrace with zest.
Yet, there are moments that try to make us feel less then.
People who love us one day may decide to leave us the next.
Through betrayals, through loss and new beginnings, we are the constant that remains.
The orange is still in my hand in pieces.
The thick, spongy skin in bits and pieces.
Taken apart, its tiny pieces still retain their essence.
The zest is powerful and pungent.
As our spirits are scraped against the trials of life, we learn to appreciate the sweetness more.
We appreciate the tiny pieces of zest left on the table. The sweetness that remains.
Carolyn Nones Vazquez
Nonesvazquez 
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