The Gardener 25: Madness in Your Eyes
The Gardener 25: Madness in Your Eyes - meaning Summary
Longing and Youthful Unrest
This short lyric presents a dialogue between a youth and onlookers who scold him for the "madness" in his eyes and his stillness. The youth replies calmly that an inward intoxication or burden has altered him, distinguishing types of people—wise/foolish, smiling/weeping, free/fettered—and locating his condition among ordinary human variety. The poem frames inner restlessness and melancholic resignation as personal, unashamed states rather than moral failings.
Read Complete Analyses"Come to us, youth, tell us truly why there is madness in your eyes?" "I know not what wine of wild poppy I have drunk, that there is this madness in my eyes." "Ah, shame!" "Well, some are wise and some foolish, some are watchful and some careless. There are eyes that smile and eyes that weep -- and madness is in my eyes." "Youth, why do you stand so still under the shadow of the tree?" "My feet are languid with the burden of my heart, and I stand still in the shadow." "Ah, shame!" "Well, some march on their way and some linger, some are free and some are fettered -- and my feet are languid with the burden of my heart."
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