Connie Pachecho Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

My Heart Is A Secret Garden

My heart is a secret garden Poetry Contest
Silent One


My heart is a secret garden.
Make-believe guards stand sentry at the gate—
vigilant, visceral, ready
to keep out trolls, lurkers, pretenders,
and every donkey-ass from my past life.
Cigarettes, booze, and cheap sex
can wander elsewhere.
This time, my garden filters only purity.
Where pride is planted.
In my last life,
I went through the mill—
a chronic druggie, an alcoholic, a whore—
a plot overrun with weeds
and dirty secrets that still claw at my dreams.
But in this new life,
the core of my being is a wonderland:
fresh, free, first-rate, full-fledged, fever-pitched,
sans the forked tongue.
Baby elephants, unicorns, and pegasi
march six by six
through rows of bougainvillea,
through blossoms and budding life.
An orphaned lion cub is saved,
loosed into the wind—
Born Free, finding a home,
a rhythm,
a new secret taking root.

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Sara Kendrick June 11, 2026 at 9:14 AM I wanted to give you a belated congratulations on your poem being on the winners' list in this contest. Way to go. Somehow, I missed seeing this contest had been judged. I had a bougainvillea plant once and I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. Sara K. Connie Pachecho June 12, 2026 at 9:41 AM Sara, thank you. Here's to all the bougainvilleas that come our way.

Karen Croft May 22, 2026 at 9:03 AM Congratulations on your win, a very emotional phone Connie Pachecho May 22, 2026 at 1:21 PM Karen, thank you for the cup of tea.

Silent One May 21, 2026 at 1:55 PM Damn, I really never expected a poem like this.. There is a so much raw vulnerability in your words... Its real and it is graphic.. Loved the clever reference to the make believe guards.. We have to be careful to keep out the lurkers and predators.. too many of them around and too many who do not have the patience to learn about our heart.. especially the selfish ones.. Your last stanza is one of hope and I love the lion cub metaphor... Congrats on first place in my contest.. Blessings.. Connie Pachecho May 21, 2026 at 7:55 PM Silent, I'm very humbled by your review and delighted to be included with the top group of illustrious poets here at Soup. The way I look at it, I'm a Monet-type writer, for behind those words, there's a story I tell, a subliminal message that's organic, and similar to the famous painter's paintings. I like being creative, which evokes the wow factor in the readers. Infinitely again, thank you for being a great contest sponsor with interesting prompts that bring the best out of the contest entrants.