as he walks on the gravel.
In the garden suspended in time
my mother sits in a redwood chair:
light fills the sky,
the folds of her dress,
the roses tangled beside her.
And when my father bends
to whisper in her ear,
when they rise to leave
and the swallows dart
and the moon and stars
have drifted off together, it shines.
Even as you lean over this page,
late and alone, it shines: even now
in the moment before it disappears.
Strand uses this last statement to give the poem an “infinitely magical” feeling. It allows the reader to feel like they can relate to the entire poem as a whole, not just while reading it, but forever. It reduces the personal aspects of the poem without having to take out personal content.
The Garden