“Variations on the Word Love” by Margaret Atwood (Lucky Words podcast 2025, episode 6)

“Variations on the Word Love” by Margaret Atwood (Lucky Words podcast 2025, episode 6)

From Lucky Words by Jeffrey Windsor

May 15, 2025 · 13 min · Season 2025 · Episode 6

About this episode

This episode features a live reading of Margaret Atwood's poem 'Variations on the Word Love' recorded in Zion National Park.

Recorded live on the La Virkin Creek Trail in Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park, May 2025. You’ll hear the wind noise pretty prominently at times, and I’m sorry if it annoys you. Not sorry enough to do anything about it, because I personally find it kind of charming. There are a bunch of photos you can see if you visit the website (luckywords.net) that don’t show up in podcast notes. ## Text of poem “Variations on the Word Love” by Margaret Atwood This is a word we use to plug holes with. It's the right size for those warm blanks in speech, for those red heart- shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing like real hearts. Add lace and you can sell it. We insert it also in the one empty space on the printed form that comes with no instructions. There are whole magazines with not much in them but the word love, you can rub it all over your body and you can cook with it too. How do we know it isn't what goes on at the cool debaucheries of slugs under damp pieces of cardboard? As for the weed- seedlings nosing their tough snouts up among the lettuces, they shout it. Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute. Then there's the two of us. This word is…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff

Topics covered

  • love
  • poetry
  • nature

Keywords

  • Margaret Atwood
  • Zion National Park
  • poem reading

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Lucky Words

Books & works: Variations on the Word Love, Lucky Words

Places: Kolob Canyon, Zion National Park

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