Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Lehman’s "Greenhouses and Gardens" presents a meditation on the relationship between nature and artifice, paradise and exile, environmental concerns and human ambition. Structured as a sequence of reflections, the poem moves fluidly between the realms of philosophy, history, and personal observation, blending elements of allegory, biblical allusion, and contemporary critique.

The poem begins with an allusion to a high school questionnaire, which suggests a formative moment of decision-making for young minds. The "wise daughter" is expected to choose "the grassy knoll inside the mind and reject the bright green astroturf in the domed stadium." This opposition sets up a key theme: the contrast between authentic, organic growth (a real garden) and artificial, simulated environments (astroturf in a stadium). The notion of "grassy knoll" also carries political undertones, evoking JFK assassination conspiracy theories, which further complicates the contrast between natural and fabricated realities.

From this seemingly trivial high school exercise, the poem pivots to weightier concerns: "Then it was the title of the book she did not write about the garden of Eden and the greenhouse effect." Here, Lehman juxtaposes the biblical myth of paradise with contemporary ecological disaster. The "greenhouse effect"—a reference to global warming—suggests that humanity's original sin is no longer mere disobedience but environmental negligence. The poem acknowledges a trajectory from "the garden of Eden" to "acid rain, global warming, ozone loss," depicting human history as a movement from innocence to environmental degradation.

The interplay between mythology and reality continues as Adam and Eve become "beggars in the kingdom of greed." Their exile mirrors the modern world’s obsession with consumption, exploitation, and wealth. The phrase "Adam and Eve on a raft, wreck 'em and give 'em oars," mimicking diner lingo for scrambled eggs on toast, humorously reduces the foundational myth of Western civilization to a disposable order at a restaurant counter. This suggests not only the commodification of history but also a society that casually erases its origins.

The observer’s "eye"—a surrogate for the poet's or reader’s perspective—remains fixed on the "fruit of that forbidden tree, where nature and human nature meet." This line emphasizes how humanity's desires, limitations, and failures are eternally tied to the environment. The "natural wilderness awaits the veteran time-traveler," reinforcing the idea that history repeats itself, and each generation must grapple with the same essential dilemmas.

Lehman shifts to an ambiguous setting where a "retired warden" and a "younger man" engage in a debate. The warden’s "idea of paradise is the moonlit arbor where he saw As You Like It as a student in Oxford." This reference to Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy, which unfolds in the idealized Forest of Arden, suggests that for the older man, paradise is tied to art, nostalgia, and an idyllic, intellectual past. In contrast, the "younger man, whose bower of bliss is a bedroom without walls," imagines a paradise that is boundless, free of constraints—perhaps one of personal pleasure and limitlessness rather than cultivated beauty. Their contrasting perspectives reflect broader philosophical questions: is paradise a carefully maintained structure or an untamed expanse?

The closing stanza introduces "you," shifting the focus to a second-person addressee. The "cold dismal April morning" evokes The Waste Land’s famous "April is the cruellest month," reinforcing themes of renewal, decay, and cyclical history. The vision of "the dead returning from the earth to compete with the living for sunlight and space" conjures an eerie image, blending ecological concerns with a metaphysical reflection on the passage of time. This could reference both environmental destruction—where past generations’ mistakes haunt the present—and a broader existential fear of being overshadowed by history.

Structurally, the poem is written in free verse with fluid, extended lines that allow for seamless transitions between past and present, the mythic and the real. The lack of stanza breaks contributes to the poem’s discursiveness, mimicking the way thought flows organically. Lehman’s use of enjambment enhances this effect, as lines spill over, reinforcing the continuity between different ideas.

"Greenhouses and Gardens" is ultimately a poem about boundaries—between the natural and artificial, the past and the present, the living and the dead. Lehman presents a world where human intervention in nature (gardens, greenhouses, environmental damage) is inevitable, yet fraught with consequences. The poem does not provide a definitive stance but rather invites contemplation: are we merely beggars in the kingdom of greed, or time-travelers trying to reclaim a lost paradise?

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