Sweet Garden

Sweet garden! peaceful spot! no more in thee
Shall I e'er while away the sunny hour.
Farewell each blooming shrub, and lofty tree;
Farewell the mossy path and nodding flow'r:
I shall not hear again from yonder bow'r
The song of birds or humming of the bee,
Nor listen to the waterfall, nor see
The clouds float on behind the lofty tow'r.

No more, at breezy eve, or dewy morn,
My gliding scythe shall shear thy mossy green:
My busy hand shall never more adorn,

My eyes no more shall see this peaceful scene.
But still, sweet spot, wherever I may be,
My love-led soul will wander back to thee.

This poem by William Barnes speaks to my heart. It reminds me so of the garden I have never seen but which lives vividly in some part of me. I try to "wander back" there whenever I can. It is always lost but occasionally discovered in glimpses and visions, suggested in actual places, things I read, pictures I look at. But elusive.


It is where my other self is. Can I join her there?