I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like tissue on some vast, incredible gift.

Mary Oliver
About This Quote

In the poem, the speaker is describing the first time he saw a woman who was his age. She was standing in her garden, as if she wanted to hide from him. He used the first line of the poem to tell a story about a man named Adam and how he fell in love with a woman. After so much time passed, Adam went back to where he first met her. He still hadn’t forgotten her or their love.

Source: New And Selected Poems, Vol. 1

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