Essay on Her Garden by Meena Alexander

Meena Alexander's poem "Her Garden" is an emotional meditation on memory, heritage, and the intertwining of personal and familial history. The poem vividly conjures an image of the poet's grandmother and the landscape she inhabited, particularly the garden with its gnarled mulberry trees. The physicality of the garden, with its "gnarled" trees and the bristling cicada, mirrors the grandmother's own aging body, suggesting a deep connection between the natural world and human life.

 

The imagery of the poem is rich and textured, with the mountains "crackling" and the trees seemingly alive, "clambering out of their bark" and "swimming" to a distant, barren rock. This surrealistic vision evokes a sense of transition and impermanence, as if the garden—and by extension, the grandmother—exists in a liminal space between life and death, presence and absence.

 

The poet imagines her grandmother's death as a peaceful, almost unnoticed event, "her face set heavenward / exacting little attention / from the sun." This quiet departure contrasts with the "finicky chaos" of the setting sun, emphasizing the grandmother's serene exit from the world. The idea that she "crept into her soul / and slept" suggests a return to a more elemental state, a merging with the earth and sky.

 

The poem concludes with the speaker reflecting on the deep, almost mystical connection she feels with her grandmother, despite never having known her in life. This bond transcends time, making the poet and her grandmother "one, entirely," united in a shared sense of loss and longing. The final lines evoke a "bleakness beneath my dreams," but also a "rare fragrance," a reminder of the enduring presence of the past in the poet's life. The image of the "dry mulberry / pierced by this monsoon wind" suggests both fragility and resilience, a fitting metaphor for the legacy of the grandmother and the lasting impact of memory.

Short Essay

"Her Garden" by Meena Alexander is a reflective poem that explores themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time through the metaphor of a garden. In the poem, the speaker recalls a garden that once belonged to a woman, possibly a loved one, now absent. The garden is depicted as a place of beauty and life, filled with flowers and plants, which serve as symbols of the woman's presence and the memories associated with her.

As the speaker walks through the garden, they notice the changes that have occurred over time, such as flowers wilting or the growth of new plants. These changes evoke a sense of nostalgia and a recognition of the impermanence of life. The garden, while still beautiful, is no longer the same as it once was, mirroring the changes in the speaker's life and emotions.

The poem poignantly captures the inevitable transformations that come with time and the lingering impact of those who have left a mark on our lives. It highlights the idea that while physical presence may fade, the memories and influence of a person can continue to live on in the spaces and places they once inhabited.