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Also this: The Secret Garden

BY RITA DOVE

I was ill, lying on my bed of old papers,

when you came with white rabbits in your arms;

and the doves scattered upwards, flying to mothers,

and the snails sighed under their baggage of stone . . .

Now your tongue grows like celery between us:

Because of our love-cries, cabbage darkens in its nest;

the cauliflower thinks of her pale, plump children

and turns greenish-white in a light like the ocean’s.

I was sick, fainting in the smell of teabags,

when you came with tomatoes, a good poetry.

I am being wooed. I am being conquered

by a cliff of limestone that leaves chalk on my breasts.

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How wonderful and congratulations on your recent betrothal 💒 💕🌸💚 Your essay reminded me of the words Seamus Heaney texted to his wife before he died: 'Noli timere' – 'don't be afraid.'"

That’s the kind of love that endures. Best of luck for your wedded future 🥳

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Congratulations, Devin! I am so grateful for your posts. Your writing is some of the best on Substack.

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Loads of best wishes to you Devin. Thank you for these and all your soulful thoughts, as always...

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Hah - amazing again. Congratulations on love and marriage. I don't know if you have ever listened to BBC radio 3? If you were to throw nine darts at it, eight would hit classical music. The ninth would hit a seam of gold. This is what happened after Christmas one year on the long drive back to Scotland. The Christmas presents had blown off the roof and I had listened to children's CD's for hours. I scanned through radio stations and came to BBC radio 3 where a well known musician was taking the listeners through one of his favourite pieces of music. It was Succotash by Herbie Hancock and he allowed me to hear things in the music I had never heard before.

This is what your writing does for me. I would not know the beauty of these poems if you did not show me the way. So thank you.

My last bit of writing is a short story and it was definitely helped along the way by you. So thank you again.

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Happy married life, Devin. Love to you two. ❤️

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Congratulation Devin. I wish you love and only love in your marriage. And today's one of my fav pieces too.

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