Chapter 20: "...So Does Season"

  Wayne Jarus construes a gorgeous image in his poem, "The Flower Garden." He vividly describes the colors of nature, which is a unique way to illustrate and clarify that the poem is about spring, if the title did not already lead readers to that assumption. He uses the colors and this season to present the flower garden. The opening line is "A blur of color in the wind," (ln. 1) which instantly makes one have a sense of brightness and joy, which then directs one's thoughts to spring as a jubilantly colored time of year, and perhaps the lovely colored plants in said garden. Jarus also discusses the "emerald leaves" (ln. 11) which are most apparent in spring and summer, but to go along with the bright color references, they suggest spring. 

   Imagery involving textures and scents is also used to portray this scene. The line, "A fragrance so seductive we think of sin," is repeated several times throughout the piece, which depicts the sweet smell of spring, most likely produced by the flowers in the garden in subject. As well as talking about the temperature, particularly the "spring warmth" (ln. 8), these pieces of imagery that create spring are unusually used to develop the reader's mental picture of the garden without directly mentioning a single plant. The season of spring builds "the worker's castle" (ln. 20) and this beautiful garden. 

The Flower Garden
by Wayne Jarus
A blur of color in the wind
Fertile soil as nature’s palette
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin

A gardener’s work must begin
Work the soil before he sees
A blur of color in the wind

Damp earth the gardener’s canvas
Spring warmth brings the seed to sprout
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin

A fiery sun nurtures the seed to begin
Emerald leaves open to feed and bring
A blur of colour in the wind

A palace of wild beauty within
The gardeners reward of toil is
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin

And within this plot of raging color
The worker’s castle for months to stay
A blur of color in the wind
A fragrance so seductive we think of sin.