In David Wagoner's poem, "My Father's Garden," the speaker describes his father's work as a fruitful gardener which his father finds very productive but ultimately unable to deliver anything of value. Through the use of vivid imagery, we are presented with two contrasting views of life. In four stanzas, Wagoner's use of imagery and metaphors shows us what he thinks of his father's work, his education, and, as a result, the choices his father has made throughout his life. We are first presented with the image of an open hearth which directly sets the tone for the first verse. The speaker's description of the father as a knight in a furnace with “hot steel” (ln, 1) pierced by “his spear” (ln, 2) has a negative connotation. With the use of the words “burning” and “molten” (ln, 4), the setting is similar to a hell and ultimately gives us insight into the speaker's impression of his father. However, in the last sentence, the scene changes dramatically from a merciless “open hearth” to a calm junk yard that is his father's “sort of garden” (ln, 6)....