To Fred,
Did your heart flutter the first time we met at my friend Marie’s 21st birthday on February 1st, 1956? We danced that snowy night away in the Crystal Ballroom on Anne Street to the sound of Johnny Devlin’s Band as the singer, Jon Clarke (the first black singer in Ireland), sang the Frank Sinatra song Love and Marriage for Marie and Liam, her boyfriend. You told me later that you knew that night that you wanted to marry me.
Did your heart flutter as we married three years later in St Kevin’s Chapel in the Pro-Cathedral?
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Did your heart flutter when I looked at you ‘across a crowded room’ and saw the most handsome man in the room? Mine did.
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Did your heart flutter when we celebrated our wedding anniversary every year? We managed to do that 58 times.
Did your heart flutter when you wrote the last birthday card you gave me, as you wrote the words: “To my dearest darling Peg, always my heart’s desire and joy of my life”? I have taken out that card every birthday since you died five years ago and my heart flutters with gratitude; gratitude that we met; gratitude that we had such a good life together; gratitude that our love never wavered.
Sometimes, an ordinary life seems like a miracle.
The Words of Love project started one morning with a chat in the foyer of the Fighting Words centre in Dublin . Two Fighting Words mentors were talking about the world needing a little more love as they waited for the children to arrive for their workshop. This germ of an idea was developed and writers of all ages were approached to share their thoughts and experiences of love in all its forms; the result was a small, beautiful collection launched on April 14th. Here are a few pieces by participants from the Silverthread writing group who responded to the challenge of capturing the essence of love in words. You can find out more about Words of Love and read more pieces from the project on the Fighting Words website.
