“In a Garden” by John Rodker

In a Garden

There was a paved alley there,

apple trees and a lush lawn—

and over the grey wall where the plums were

stood the red brick of the chapel.

While over the long white wall

where the green apples grew

and the rusted pears

hung the grey tower of the church;

so high, you couldn't see the top

from that narrow garden.

 

In that narrow garden

on that lush lawn,

we found a ball left from some croquet game.

It had a blue stripe girdling it

and "ah"—I thought,

"it is your soul about me

and we are flung

between our separate desires."

 

[ . . . ]

 

John Rodker's poem "In a Garden" was published in the 1917 Others anthology. To read this poem in full in a digitized version of this publication, follow the link(s) below:

Archive.org

HathiTrust.org