Book Review - 'The Orange and Other Poems' by Wendy Cope
Image by Alex Kulikov via Unsplash
Written by Rose Westrip
When I picked up this book to review it, a handful of fortune cookie papers and a postcard fell out. I’d put them in there because the cover, a big watercolour orange, is so pretty it felt like a nice place to collect things. And also, because I knew I’d pick it up again. This book made me feel comfortable in poetry, when previously I had felt intimidated by it.
The poem The Orange draws you in because it’s familiar, but the other poems around it are a pleasant surprise. Some funny, some sweet, and some that make you think. Names, which concludes with the beautiful, cutting lines, ‘And for those last bewildered weeks, she was Eliza once again.’ This sits to the left of Tich Miller, whose last line lies alone and goes, ‘Tich died when she was twelve.’ Both are brutal displays of how life can play out, but painted with a light-hearted hand. Some put into words thoughts you didn’t know could be. He Tells Her (for Ruth B), reminds me of encounters I’ve had or seen. ‘He tells her that the earth is flat- he knows the fact and that is that.’ This story about relationships and a hold some men wave around is juxtaposed by its neighbour, A Vow. A poem which exudes love and honesty. It begins, ‘I cannot promise never to be angry, I cannot promise always to be kind.’ And ends, ‘I love you and I want to make you happy, I promise I will do my very best.’
The rhythms of Cope’s words wind themselves into your brain, it’s hard not to rhyme and replicate them here whilst rereading. She even indulges us in a haiku you can taste: ‘a perfect white wine is sharp, sweet and cold as this: birdsong in winter.’ Finally, of course, a moment for The Orange, which sweetly reminds the reader to enjoy the little things in life. In fact, maybe the whole book does.
Edited by Nico Horton