Classic Poem

(Locheven)


Would you choose
The formal garden
With lilac hedges
And vistas of velvet lawn
And marble fountain
Shining pool and
Marble bench o'er-topped
By drooping willow;
Massed color in trim beds,
And stately garden house
Festooned with wisteria
And guarded by strutting peacock?

Or,

The wood's garden,
The wild garden,
Tumbling over itself
With pale Jacks, and violets--
Blue and gold, and
Baby ferns, tucked
Within sheltering gnarled roots!
And mossy mounds, starred
With Trillium and Crane's bill;
And patches of lavender sunlight,
(No, it's wild Phlox,
In the flickering light)--
And fire-flies and flapping owls,
At twilight, and furry rabbits,
Bobbing ahead up the path.

Which would you choose?