Favorite Poem

To My Wife - With A Copy Of My Poems by Oscar Wilde

I can write no stately poem
As a prelude to my lay;
From a poet to a poem
I would dare to say.

For if of these fallen petals
One to you seem fair,
Love will waft it till it settles
On your hair.

And when wind and winter harden
All the loveless land,
It will whisper of the garden,
You will understand.

As indicated by the title, this poem is a note which is the introduction to all his poetry which he includes for his wife to read. It's structure is quite simple: three stanzas with four lines each that rhyme in the ABAB format. Its simple format gives it a casual feel. Internally, the first stanza is the introduction, the second connects his poetry to to flowers representing his love and their memories, and the third builds off the second but on a somber note, saying that when the time of flowers is passed (the winter), she'll still have these poems to remember. 

The first stanza:

He explains that he doesn't have an impressive poem to introduce the rest of his poetry to her. And then says "From a poet to a poem, I dare to say": he's saying she's a poem in herself. Sweet.

The second stanza:

The language is very soft: "fallen petals" "fair" "love will waft it" "hair". Tenderly, he tells her that he hopes she likes one of them, and that their love will make it stay with her.

The third stanza:

Here he is anticipating difficult times in their lives or within their relationship, when everything isn't as soft as he described in the second stanza: "wind and winter harden all the loveless land". And he says that during those times, he hopes his poems will "whisper" to her (remind her) of the soft garden from which these "fallen petals" came, and then she'll understand. Understand what, i'm not sure: his love? his poems? the hardships? his decisions that lead to harships?