The Lost Garden

If ever we see those gardens again,The summer will be gone—at least our summer.Some other mockingbird will concertizeAmong the mulberries, and other vinesWill climb the high brick wall to disappear. How many footpaths crossed the old estate—The gracious acreage of a grander age—So many trees to kiss or argue under,And greenery enough for any mood.What pleasure to be sad in such surroundings. At least in retrospect. For even sorrowSeems bearable when studied at a distance,And if we speak of private suffering,The pain becomes part of a well-turned taleDescribing someone else who shares our name. Still, thinking of you, I sometimes play a game.What if we had walked a different path one day,Would some small incident have nudged us elsewhereThe way a pebble tossed into a brookMight change the course a hundred miles downstream? The trick is making memory a blessing,To learn by loss the cool subtraction of desire,Of wanting nothing more than what has been,To know the past forever lost, yet seeingBehind the wall a garden still in blossom. From Interrogations at Noon—Published with permission by the author Dana Gioia was born in Hawthorne, California, on December 24, 1950. He received a BA from Stanford University. Before returning to Stanford to earn an MBA, he completed an MA in comparative literature at Harvard University, where he studied with the poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Fitzgerald. In 1977, Gioia moved to New York to begin a career in business. For fifteen years Gioia worked as a businessman, eventually becoming a vice president of General Foods. In 1992, after publishing his first book of poetry, Daily Horoscope (Graywolf Press), in 1986, he left business to become a full-time writer. Good News: Our Fall 2024 Journal Is Published! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ageofmuses.substack.com/subscribe