The first-person speaker is a young man tending to his garden and preparing a meal in solitude. He is highly observant of his environment, noting the shifting of seasons, a departing cardinal, and the cold metal of a water hose. As he works, he reflects on past shared experiences and finds a meditative contentment while cooking a dinner of fried onions, sweet peas, and braised shrimp.

The father is remembered as an older man with creaky knees who shares quiet, impactful moments with his son. In the central memory of the poem, he bends down to pick up a fallen, rotting pear to reveal a hornet feeding inside it. He remains a strong presence in the young man's mind, momentarily appearing as a visual apparition shaped by a shovel leaning against a tree in the shade.