I actually used those words
“new lover”!

The silence told me
I had said too much.

But when I’m driving home
In the evenings,
Down the M50
My thoughts turn
To my greenhouse.
And by the time I get home,
I can hardly wait!

I drop my keys and bag
Sprint down the garden
And pause just for a moment
On the threshold.
Then I slide open the door
And lift my face to the
whitest hottest
Wettest air
Moisture filled and smelling of
Dark scented earth
So that I almost die with pleasure.

And one by one I check off
The progress they’ve made
Since I saw them last
That very morning

My tender cos
My lolla rossa
My butterhead

My blue veined leaves of
Purple sprouting broccoli

The courgettes have burst forth
Two new flowers

Oh and the tomatoes are almost
Leaping through the roof
So strong on their stakes,
Their abundant growth
Creates a green gloom
Within my glass walls

The runner beans,
Stretch their tender trailing
tendrils
upwards
searching for a
hold
I reach out my palm to them

And smile at
the hot spicy
Chilli peppers,

And then and only then
I relax in my chair,
close my eyes
and allow
the lush rich luxuriant
growth envelop me.

Maeve Edwards
Dublin Unitarian Church May2009