Bigamy: Confessions Of A Jewish Writer "If a man has two wives …" (Deuteronomy 21:15) Can a man have two wives?            My first wife, whom I love, is English.            Every weekday morning we walk together, hand in hand,            In the botanical gardens, or along the promenade by the sea.            She carries a parasol to shade her fair skin from the sun            As we discuss Donne's sonnets and Shakespeare's plays.                        My second wife, whom I love, is Hebrew.                        Every Friday evening we sit together by candlelight                        And drink wine, as her fingers gently clasp mine.                        She rests her head on my shoulder as we whisper                        Verses from The Song Of Songs to one another. Is it so terrible for a man to have two wives?            My first wife, whom I love,            Wears thick woolen sweaters to ward off the cold,            And loves the sun; and I love how the sun            Is reflected in her thick, blonde hair when she lowers the parasol            And talks of her teachers, Blake and Keats.                        My second wife, whom I love,                        Wears a thin shawl of many colors to ward off the evil eye,                        And loves the twilight; and I love how the twilight                        Is reflected in her large, brown eyes                        When she speaks of her teachers, Jeremiah and Rabbi Nachman. Yet at night, In a bed of marital intimacy, These two merge into one: One voice, one life, One bond, one love, one wife.            As I stroke her hair, her eyes, I whisper,            In our private language, a vow:            “I have betrothed thee unto myself            B'emunah — In faithfulness,            L'olam — Forever.”