The Garden
The speaker addresses presumably his spouse, reflecting on a time "years ago" when they had cats who were tearing each other apart. The speaker details how the spouse refused to part with the cats, but gradually realizing the danger they're both in, decides to give away the kinder cat. In the act of keeping the less desirable cat, the speaker admires the "compassion" of the addressed, acknowledging also the damage this has done. He then explains the protective instinct the spouse has over the garden, justifying it by suggesting that everything has a right to live, referencing the Edenic garden and love necessary between humans.
Fragment of Ancient Skull
Starting in the present tense, the speaker describes how a man is executed for cowardice upon refusal to become a solider. The temporal zone then shifts to the actual present, but still maintains present tense, detailing how a fragment of his skull is found and disregarded as a simple piece of historical interest, with no regard for his actual life or "the whereabouts of his hat". This suggests a similar cruelty of modern historiographers and cold, unfeeling civil guard executers.
Notice
The speaker opens by lamenting the tearing of his favorite pair of jeans, but goes on to make a macabre comparison in somewhat relating this to his friend's sudden death. He encourages the listener to be kind, enjoy life and "kiss the earth" (value the environment?) as mortality is fleeting.
Crossing the River
The speaker is translating a poem (a connection between different cultures, and an increase in universal connection) when he looks at "Mary" (his wife or daughter, we assume), and wonders what life will be like when one of them dies. He then looks up at the sky and sees Lyra (a constellation that looks like a harp) and acknowledges how still it is. In doing so, he realizes the smallness and irrelevance of human life, but takes solace in the recognition of a system greater and more profound than ourselves.
Some Clouds
The speaker turns off his phone to ignore the messages asking if he knows about the death of his loved one. He sits and thinks of the beautiful morning, which should've warned him of the news, describing how the clouds drift in and out of nothingness. The poem describes the nature of existence, connecting the clouds to death, exposing the idea that our lives are meaningless but beautiful as clouds.
