Bella Furst Week 4 | "Garden of Eden" by Tracy K. Smith

 

I'd squint into it, or close my eyes

And let it slam me in the face—

The known sun setting

On the dawning century.

"Garden of Eden"

Tracy K. Smith

I will say it flat-out: I do not like poetry. I struggle a lot with interpreting metaphorical words often used by poets and underlying meanings behind small phrases. It’s not that I don’t like it because “Ew, poetry,” but rather because I just don’t understand a majority of it. I spent about 2 hours going through this list of poets trying to find someone that I could just understand and was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon Tracy. K Smith. Unlike a lot of other poets I was looking at, she has a certain flavor that just really fit to my taste. 

The poem, titled “Garden of Eden” begins with Smith acknowledging a “profound longing” for her “Garden of Eden,” or moreover her personal paradise. For Smith, this is a lavish shop that seems to be selling a very specific selection of goods. Due to the insinuation that this is an expensive shop, she reminisces of being in her thirties and seeing the “The glossy pastries!” and the “Pomegranate, persimmon, [and] quince!” sold there. All of these fruits hold positive or affectionate connotations to their names, something she likely wished for after therapy (she earlier states she typically shops here almost exclusively after therapy).

Smith continues that it was Brooklyn and everyone she had known was “living

the same desolate luxury”, people lived paycheck to paycheck, unable to afford such luxuries like exotic fruits or pastries. Yet everyone lived with a sense of “innocence and privacy.” People are leading lives where they cannot afford rich and luxurious things and are ashamed of that, yet they also hold onto fear; they are afraid to let people see their actual status. She comes home with her paper bags and looks at the numbers to her name and it ultimately “slam[s] [her] in the face”; she perceives a life of luxury and craves more from life than that of which she can afford.

I honestly really enjoyed this poem, particularly the ending clause. “I’d squint into it… and let it slam me in the face-- the known sun setting on the dawning century” really stuck with me. At the end of the day, our lives aren’t quite the way we wish they were and it can be difficult to come to terms with that. We often want more from life than is achievable and all-in-all, that’s okay. I’m really happy I stumbled upon Tracy K. Smith and I look forward to reading more of her work.