Calling 5 — Summary

A speaker tells someone waiting in a palace that she cannot come yet, because she is absorbed in the garden roses. The palace suggests grand, patient expectation—perhaps a lover, a god, or a duty—while the roses pull her toward immediate physical pleasure. She is “dazed fiery,” burning with restless energy, then turns to the flowers’ “cool nectar pastures” for relief. That movement from heat to coolness gives the short poem a dreamy, almost sleepy mood. She becomes so lost among the roses that she forgets “the closing skies,” a phrase that hints at evening, passing time, or something ominous she is avoiding. The feeling is one of delicious delay: she knows she is expected somewhere, but cannot make herself leave the garden. There is a hint of guilt, but it is outweighed by sensual absorption in the present moment.