Famous Poets’ Nature Poetry, 1a: “The Sunlight on the Garden”

I would be remiss if I neglected this addendum to my last post‘s “sun spots”: the opening stanza of a cherished poem I once had memorized, “The Sunlight on the Garden” by Irish poet Louis MacNeice.

The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold,
When all is told 
We cannot beg for pardon.

The regular meter, musical rhythm, and patterns of rhyme, as well as the poem’s simplicity and manageable length (24 lines), aid in its successful memorization and recitation. Published in 1938, it is half war poem and half nature poem, but at its heart, it is a nostalgic love song. I hope you’ll read it in its entirety.

In the next post of this nature verse series, I shine a spotlight on two Elizabeth Bishop poems.