Swinbourne's "The Forsaken Garden" is wrought with decaying imagery that would lead one to believe the poem is about death, but I think its about time. To me, the poem is about life continuing on and that "death lies dead." The lines that end each stanza speak of the continuance of the sea and the passage of years and days. The end of the first stanza says "Now lie dead," instead of "Now is dead." The weeds that once grew are lying dead, which could still imply some sort of action taking place, even if that action is death.
Imagery of the wind, rain, and sun bearing down on the garden only reinforces that time and life go on, even with decay and death. The second to last stanza states, "Earth, stones, and thorns of the wild ground growing/ While the sun and the rain live, these shall be," indicating the continuity of life. Even through destruction, there are new beginnings. Time has destroyed the garden, but only temporarily because from time's "self-slain" hand, it brings both decay and life.
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