In his book “Alchemy of Fragrance” David Crow writes that there are deep and mysterious relationships among the soil, water, sunlight and air and the bodies of plants that absorb and transform these elements. . There are wondrous alchemies in the transmutation of these elements by plants into foods, medicines, and fragrances. An aromatic plant creates its fragrance from radiant solar energy, from nutrients of the soil, from springs, dew, rains, wind and breezes. When we breathe that perfume w are  breathing  the breath of the celestial heavens,  living soil, and the living waters.

In this poem ( he says it is an experiment) Andrews is comparing the body and the soul to the flower and its fragrance.  As the fragrance of the flower comes from where it is growing the  soul gets its fragrance (goodness) from the actions of the body.   Apart from the philosophical overtones, the beauty of this poem is in its thought.  The poem has beautifully delineated the concept of  the relationship between our body and the soul.  We may be handsome, healthy and strong but  we are reminded by the bible words : What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever" (1Corinthians 15:50).  I repeat the dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. It is flower’s vanity to think the fragrance belongs to it.  At one point the separation takes place – fragrance from flower  and soul from body.  Like men the flower also returns to the soil and the fragrance dissolves in the air..

I think the style and structure of the poem is more close to free verse and Andrews has done justice to it. The free verse has been defined as : Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular  meter or rhythm and  does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use  alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece.