Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Gardener" by Stephen Dobyns presents a unique and imaginative re-envisioning of the divine and the origin of humanity, narrating a poignant tale that bridges myth, science, and the existential questions that have intrigued humankind through the ages. In this narrative poem, Dobyns explores the theme of creation, the responsibility of the creator, and the unforeseen consequences of divine experimentation, all through the metaphorical lens of a gardener.

Dobyns begins with a provocative premise: astronauts reach heaven only to find a solitary god who, unsurprised by their arrival, has resigned himself to retirement amid the inevitability of human self-destruction. The god, once a figure of awe and majesty, now reduced to a sideshow, is trotted out to perform parlor tricks for the amusement of tourists—a commentary on how the sacred has been rendered mundane in the face of human progress.

The former deity's dwelling in proximity to Venus, a symbol often associated with love and beauty, stands in stark contrast to the mundanity of his current existence. The celestial has been domesticated, the heavenly turned earthly. The god’s pastime of reading Dante could be seen as a reflection on the divine comedy and tragedy of his own situation, contemplating the infernos, purgatories, and paradises of his own making.

The regular visits from the Devil introduce a philosophical dialogue, a reflection on creation and choice. The Devil's suggestion that humans should have been made in his image rather than god’s opens a debate on the nature of humanity. It's a moment that captures the poem's central tension: the duality of human nature and the divergence of creator's intent from creation's reality.

The poem then delves into a retrospective contemplation of the god's true passion: gardening. The Edenic garden, with its "neat rows of cabbages and beets, flowering quince, a hundred varieties of rose," symbolizes an order and beauty that the god had once curated with care. This is the heart of the poem—the nostalgia for a lost simplicity and purity before the complexity of sentient life was introduced.

However, the progression from flora to fauna and ultimately to the creation of humanity reveals a journey of escalating complexity and, with it, an increase in unpredictability and disappointment. The god's creation of humans, initially as a scarecrow, then as a mirror, and finally as sentient beings, showcases his increasing ambition and, ultimately, his hubris.

The twist in the tale comes with the realization that the creatures made in his own image would not share his temperament. Instead of appreciating the garden, they trample it in their discontent, and rather than cherishing their existence, they yearn for something beyond. The poem then subverts the traditional expulsion narrative: rather than being cast out, these human creations clamor to leave, driven by an insatiable desire to define their own destinies.

"The Gardener" is a rich, allegorical poem that uses the act of creation to explore the unintended consequences of the god’s actions. It is a meditation on the role of the creator and the autonomy of the created. Dobyns crafts a god who is at once a figure of empathy and a cautionary emblem of unintended outcomes, and in doing so, he invites the reader to reflect on the nature of free will, the pursuit of knowledge, and the complex relationship between creator and creation.

POEM TEXT: https://www.wisdomportal.com/StephenDobyns/DobynsReading.html

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