Summary

In “The Jacob's Ladder,” the speaker is a Jacob's ladder plant, addressing the woman in the garden. The plant states that it desires “knowledge of paradise” (24) in the same way that men and women desire each other. It observes the woman's grief and posits that her feelings are related to her mortality.

In “Matins (#5),” the poet addresses God, stating that she is not weeding in her garden as she appears to be doing, she is actually “looking for courage, for some evidence / my life will change” (25). Summer is nearly ending and she has not found what she is looking for. Her hands remain empty. She wonders if she is meant to “continue without a sign” (25).

In “Matins (#6),” Glück addresses God again, asking him why he continually breaks her heart and why she must contend with an “affliction” (26) that keeps her isolated from...