This reference to “the botanical garden” at first is hard to interpret the meaning behind its usage. However after a deeper look into this poem, I believe the botanical garden is used to reference a journey into the mind and heart, how they interact with each other and over time our views and knowledge grow and change.

I feel she is trying to convey the idea that though you have been through that position or place in life before, when you go through it again it is different. You are different, you have grown into a different person through your experiences.

In the very first line, the author states the garden is just how she remembers, but in the last line of the stanza she writes how everything has changes since she was last there. I believe this stanza is showing how even if something changes, the memories last a lifetime. Like Morrie in “Tuesdays with Morrie,” he may not look the same, or be able to do as much as he used to but his spirit is still the same.

Harryette Mullen describes her garden, and about how it has changed since the last time she was there. When saying “everything has changed since my last visit”, Mullen shows how when revisiting a place, you see it a different way then before. Although she does see changes in her garden, her memory helps her remember the garden, but also compare how it is now.

Just as a few of my fellow classmates have said, this stanza describes a familiarity within the situation. I feel like the author was envisioning a scene of the botanical garden in complete disarray but she still relives the memories that she once experienced there.

I feel like this stanza depicts a feeling similar to how nostalgia feels. Visiting things from the past that you remember so fondly, and they are still the same, but feel so different. Vice versa.

i think this stanza describes a botanical garden that the author was revisiting but certain things have changed in the garden since she has last been there but she still feels like the garden is familiar

The author speaks of the memory she has of the botanical garden and it being the way she remembers. I feel that this is important to the author. Her passion for hiking and going back to this place which holds such a special place in her heart. The memory of the botanical garden is something that will always belong to her.

In this stanza alone makes me imagine a great big garden of many plants and tree sprawling everywhere.
In the whole poem I couldn’t stop imagining things in my head so therefore I think the author did a good job of imagery.

Harryette Mullen compares the “bleached back from a tree” to “a scroll of ancient wisdom.” Her comparison may be an example of a pareidolia, which occurs when we see objects in trees, or faces in clouds. The author sees the bleached bark as a scroll, that she’s unable to read.

The poet is talking of an adventure he had on one his hikes and was able to find a scroll of ancient wisdom.

This brought back some visceral childhood memories. As kids, my sisters and I used to pick up the shed bark from aspen trees and use it in our games. It could be a plate, a towel, or even an decree from the queen.

The scroll of ancient wisdom the author is unable to read could mean many things. I believe she is trying to say that nature has its own story and voice and we may not be able to read it while it is being told.

This stanza of walking along the path and picking up ancient wisdom unable to be read is interesting. It eludes to the first stanza where the author says everything has changed, but still feels the same. They stop for the bark, but find it so old and changed they are no longer able to interpret it.

Notice how ejambment is working throughout this piece and how it sort of “guides” the reader through the pacing of the poem.

In this stanza of Mullen’s Tanka, she uses something called “Pareidolia” in the last sentence. Paredolia is the act of finding objects or symbols in something that is not really there. For example, finding shapes or figures in the clouds or seeing the man in the moon. In the last stanza of this poem, Mullen writes “Even in my dreams I’m hiking these mountain trails expecting to find a rock that nature has shaped to remind me of a heart.” She’s using pareidolia to see a heart in a rock even though it’s just a rock.

I have been many places to hike and i love nature. It is very peaceful and gets your mind off of all the tings in the world

This stanza gives us an insight on to how much the author really loves hiking. the author says, “Even in my dreams I’m hiking.” This shows how much hiking means to the author. If you are dreaming about something, you must really love doing it.

After reading this article a few times, I think the author finds their happiness in the nature. Even though it has apparently changed since the last visit, the author is still reminded of the happiness that nature brings.

Although difficult to understand, I think this part of the poem is talking about being optimistic in life. How even though life can be a rocky and rough road that there are things that bring us comfort and the feeling of safety, and we should be looking for these things.