Gardens have long been a subject of poetic fascination, representing havens of beauty, serenity, and contemplation. From the vibrant colors of flowers to the gentle rustling of leaves, these poems invite readers to immerse themselves in the tranquility and abundant life found within the confines of a garden.
Moreover, these verses often delve into deeper metaphors, exploring themes of growth, transformation, and the cycle of life.
Through their words, poets create a sanctuary of imagery, inviting readers to experience the enchantment of gardens and the profound connections they foster.
‘Dear heart, why will you use me so’ by James Joyce both revels and despairs the rapturous reign and inevitable sundering that love delivers.
Dear heart, why will you use me so?
Dear eyes that gently me upbraid,
Still are you beautiful—but O,
How is your beauty raimented!
‘My Garden — like the Beach’ by Emily Dickinson is a beautiful, short poem. It compares the speaker’s garden to the beach and the summer to the sea. Read the full poem, with a complete analysis.
My Garden—like the Beach—
Denotes there be—a Sea—
That's Summer—
‘Sunlight on the Garden’ by Louis MacNeice is a poem about change, death, and accepting that life eventually ends.
The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
‘A Child’s Garden’ by Rudyard Kipling is written from the perspective of a young sick boy who is dreaming of escaping his confining and frightening life by taking to the sky in an airplane.
Now there is nothing wrong with me
Except -- I think it's called T.B.
And that is why I have to lay
Out in the garden all the day.
‘Days’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a short allegorical poem reflecting on the passage of time and the expectations of humans that come and go with it. It is celebrated as one of the best transcendental poems of the 19th century.
Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days,
Muffled and dumb like barefoot dervishes,
And marching single in an endless file,
Bring diadems and fagots in their hands.
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone;
‘From the Garden’ by Anne Sexton is a peaceful poem in which the speaker describes how beneficial it is to spend time in nature.
‘Lines Written in Kensington Gardens’ describes a speaker’s experience within the confines of Kensington Gardens in London, England.
‘Partition’ by Sujata Bhatt depicts the simple tale of a woman going to a “railway station” to provide for distressed people, while her niece stays “in her garden” and “wish[es]” “she” could be brave enough to do the same.
‘Sheltered Garden’ by H.D. describes the sheltered life led by the speaker and how she is looking for a world which is more “wind-tortured” and real.
’Tall Ambrosia’ by Henry David Thoreau is a beautiful depiction of the joy one can take from the natural world, specifically in a field of ambrosia.
‘The Cap and Bells’ highlights that in situations of infatuation and love, one person sacrifices their existence just to be recognized and maybe even loved.
The jester walked in the garden:
The garden had fallen still;
He bade his soul rise upward
And stand on her window-sill.
‘The Garden’ by Ezra Pound describes the emotional conflict caused by changes in the upper and lower classes of England during the ending months of WWI.
‘The Garden of Eros’ describes a metaphorical garden that plays host to various flowers and the memories of some of the greatest English poets.
It is full summer now, the heart of June;
Not yet the sunburnt reapers are astir
Upon the upland meadow where too soon
Rich autumn time, the season's usurer,
‘The Stinking Rose’ by Sujata Bhatt describes the way that garlic is judged based on its name and how a changed name might influence that fact.
‘There is a Garden in Her Face’ by Thomas Campion is a poem about a woman’s beauty. It also contains a warning to suitors that she won’t let anyone kiss her or come near her in any meaningful way.
In the beautiful poem, ‘There is another sky,’ Dickinson addresses themes that are common to Shakespearean sonnets. These include writing as a way of preserving experience and beauty.
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
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