The Gardener 38: Will Not Mourn
The Gardener 38: Will Not Mourn - meaning Summary
Immortality Through Beloved
The speaker addresses a beloved whose presence disrupted his grand poetic project, scattering his epic into fragments. He describes loss without bitterness: the stories and songs sank like cargo in waves. Rather than seeking posthumous fame, he asks the beloved to make him immortal in life, accepting the ruined work and promising not to mourn or reproach her. The poem frames love as a living substitute for artistic legacy.
Read Complete AnalysesMy love, once upon a time your poet launched a great epic in his mind. Alas, I was not careful, and it struck your ringing anklets and came to grief. It broke up into scraps of songs and lay scattered at your feet. All my cargo of the stories of old wars was tossed by the laughing waves and soaked in tears and sank. You must make this loss good to me, my love. If my claims to immortal fame after death are shattered, make me immortal while I live. And I will not mourn for my loss nor blame you.
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