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[11] On the PrOPer CAre OF OrChiDS Watering. rainwater is better than tap. More in the summer when the weather is warm. Another concern: the size of the pot. Small pots need frequent watering. You tipped back your head, mouth open as if to drink. Rain on your cheeks, lips, chin. Tonic from heaven, you said. Proper light. this will yield grass-green leaves, and not the burnished hue of too much exposure — and not the flaccid spine of a dark, cold space. Leaves, rank and rotten that you pressed in your hand, held under my nose. I mimed a squeezed throat; play acted death’s stranglehold. Orchids need air. in their natural habitat, they often grow anchored in a tree with little or no soil in a cool, shaded place. Breathe, breathe in your new habitat — a tree? a loft? a well? a grave? Breathe like a stem that — if I have to — I will dry and press and save. ...

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