Amy Lowell’s speaker describes a garden full of moving water—stone fountains shaped like men, pools where irises grow, ferns in damp tunnels, and steps worn green with moss. All the early lines focus on sound and coolness: rushing, trickling, splashing, gurgling. The air itself seems to throb. It feels lush, enclosed, almost hypnotic.
Then the mood shifts inward. The speaker says, “And I wished for night and you.” The garden becomes a private, sensual setting. The speaker imagines the beloved bathing in a pool, white and shining under the moon, while lilac scent hangs heavy. The poem moves from close observation of a garden to quiet, intense desire for an absent person. The overall mood is dreamy, slightly erotic, and full of longing.