True love has waited long enough

Sweat soaks shinguards.
Juice drips from chins.
Teeth tear.
Slices of orange. Hours of labor.

Years before "soccer mom" rolls
From a candidate's honeyed tongue
Deft hands slice hundreds of fruits.

Children chatter gripes
Of pulp stuck in teeth.
Minds as empty of malice
As of gratitude.

Thankless hands
Gather up rinds
From trampled grass.

Years later
Another bite of orange
Wedges pulp between teeth.

Tears flow.
A mind remembers.
A will resolves.
This Valentine's Day, a mother
Will receive a box of oranges.

original poem, written by me
(in case you were wondering)