How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
I peeled my orange
That was so bright against
The gray of December
[…] Someone might have thought
I was making a fire in my hands. (51-53, 55-56)
In the poem's closing lines, the symbolically-loaded image of the orange is combined with a description of its luminosity (echoing those previous "light" and "bright" descriptions associated with the girl) and a reference to fire-heat (echoing that "burn[ing]" porch light). The orange's warm luminosity conquers the cold "gray of December." The light of love conquers the gray gloominess of loneliness. That's the power of love.
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