The Gardener 28: but It Is Love
The Gardener 28: but It Is Love - meaning Summary
Love Resists Full Knowing
A speaker addresses a beloved who seeks to know him completely. He contrasts things that can be given or measured—a gem, a flower, a moment of pleasure or pain—with his heart and love, which are unbounded and resist containment. The poem argues that love is intimate yet ultimately unknowable: it shares life with the beloved but exceeds any single gesture, token, or clear comprehension.
Read Complete AnalysesYour questioning eyes are sad. They seek to know my meaning as the moon would fathom the sea. I have bared my life before your eyes from end to end, with nothing hidden or held back. That is why you know me not. If it were only a gem I could break it into a hundred pieces and string them into a chain to put on your neck. If it were only a flower, round and small and sweet, I could pluck it from its stem to set it in your hair. But it is a heart, my beloved. Where are its shores and its bottom? You know not the limits of this kingdom, still you are its queen. If it were only a moment of pleasure it would flower in an easy smile, and you could see it and read it in a moment. If it were merely a pain it would melt in limpid tears, reflecting its inmost secret without a word. But it is love, my beloved. Its pleasure and pain are boundless, and endless its wants and wealth. It is as near to you as your life, but you can never wholly knowit.
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