I first kept a garden in 2021 and was fortunate to have the opportunity to try my hand. I was blessed to harvest the fruits of my labor, but I also experienced disappointments, both during the growing season and, finally, when winter came. The structure of my poem is as follows: the first three stanzas address the decline of my garden as the seasons change; the fourth serves as a hinge and makes explicit the mixture of joy and sadness that characterizes the poem; stanzas five through seven contemplate my failures to be faithful in tending the garden—and thus in cultivating the virtues of Romans 12:12 in myself; the final stanza expresses hope and faith that the Lord will be faithful both to my garden and to me by linking the garden in Spring to the Resurrection of Jesus. Although unmentioned, the work of the garden may be read throughout as a metaphor for prayer: ora et labora. Including Romans 12:12, other passages that were on my mind include 2 Timothy 2:13, Matthew 5:43, and the parable of the Good Samaritan. The rhythm is fairly even and readable; however, all of the even stanzas begin with a stressed syllable. Poets who influenced this poem include Denise Levertov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Wendell Berry.
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