A Small Needful Fact

As any gardener can tell you, all life is connected—a truth at the core of “A Small Needful Fact.” The poem concludes with a description of an interconnected community of organisms, or an ecosystem. In the final lines, plants “house / and feed” (Lines 10-11) insects and small animals. Through the process of photosynthesis, these plants also convert sunlight into oxygen, “making it easier” (Line 14) for larger mammals, like humans, to breathe. During his life, Garner fostered this ecosystem by planting vegetation in the soil. After his death, he still contributes: The vegetation continues to grow, and Garner was laid to rest in the earth. This implied image of Garner as a seed is particularly salient in the poem’s context of social justice; Garner’s death is transformed beyond a murder to become a sacrifice, and Garner himself transforms from a victim to a martyr whose death helped galvanize a nation toward overwhelmingly “needful” action. His death becomes a new life for others, framing an ecosystem that transcends the literal flora and life processes described in the poem.