In the Garden

Before I had a garden, I loved yet Alone I stood without a place to redden broad And let sweet red-crowned flowers her gentle breath, Oft in bloom, beset by bees urging thou.

The sun with perfumed raiment at my feet spins A variety of rays and gold, and in their runs Sparkling through the golden wastage bloomed, unattended to, Pure and many flowers danced beyond to sound and hue.

Oh Nature, thou art at once a soft refrain, Food for all senses, mirror of great, unending flight; God within and without, yet worlds all campaign Through roots and reddening walls lancet with a light.

So let me linger near thy precious shrub that burns, One gentle prayer and song of leaves expressed Nature’s palm shall make earth fair and great in turn, Allowing joy’s bright laughter to renew again our rest!

• John Donne