Within this pair of stanzas of ‘ Morning Song’, the reader can witness the mother becoming more interactive with the child as she “stumble from bed” to care for the baby, and doing so is both a “heavy” notion and one that is so natural that it is reflected in the “floral” quality. It is a step, but a gradual one, since the child currently seems like “a far sea…in ears.” No doubt the “sea” would be a calming sound, but the distance of it being “far” represents that distance the mother continues to feel toward the child. This gradual quality is hinted in the detail that those “roses” are “flat pink,” which would give the impression that their color is not overly vivid, but just hinted-as if the feelings are only starting to provide the relationship any color.Īnother concept that shows that the mother is developing a stronger bond with the child is the idea that she is no longer “stand round blankly.” Rather, she has become involved with the child’s care, specifically “wak to listen” for the child’s “moth-breath.” Not only then is she near enough to the child to hear that “breath,” but she is also making a point to be attentive to the child’s needs. Just as quickly as the notion surfaces though, the wording takes another drastic turn by connecting that “moth-breath” to “flat pink roses.” As “pink roses” are tied to tender emotions, this is an indication that the mother is beginning to feel more maternal toward the child, but still, the process is gradual. The tone of the mother seems to take a harsher turn in the first line of the fourth stanza when she refers to the baby’s “moth-breath.” Since it feels like a complaint the mother is making about having to care for the child, what was noted as a distant “statue” is now being treated like a nuisance to the mother. That bit of herself that the narrator notices, however, is tainted with the distance and lack of depth of emotion she feels toward the child, like a “cloud distills” images. Otherwise, “a mirror” that “reflect” would not be an effective metaphor. Despite the value that is placed on the child when noted as “gold,” the appreciation the mother feels at this moment is comparable to the admiration a person might have for an artistic piece, like the noted “statue.” There is little personal attachment involved, though the continuation of that thought in the second line of the third stanza does indicate that the narrator sees herself, on some level, in the child. The initial declaration that the narrator is “no more the baby’s mother” states precisely how the mother feels in regard to the child after the birth. Rather, she is beholding the child in a way that is as rigid and concrete as the “statue” she has noted the child to be like. She clearly cares, as is evidenced by the “gold,” but not in a vivid manner. There is little to no humanity or deep expression found in those sentiments, and this is a vernacular portrait of the lack of instinct the mother feels toward the child in these early moments. The child’s “cry” is linked to the inanimate “elements,” and the baby is just a “statue n a drafty museum” as the adults “stand round blankly as walls” after the birth. Regardless of the “gold” indication though, the clearer aspects of the current relationship between the mother and child are represented through language that does not exude too much human emotion at all. While the emotions might take time to reveal themselves, they clearly exist somewhere under the surface. In addition, the narrator calls the watch “gold,” which can be taken as a subtle indication that the child is of great value to the mother, despite the mother not quite feeling as maternal as she will in later verses. The adjectives used to describe the “watch” are also telling since it is labeled as “fat,” which is used by people to indicate that a baby has rounded cheeks and a healthy appearance.
#Shadows of doubt song full
Even the poem itself is based on the notion that the mother needs time to develop full maternal feelings, so beginning the stanzas with that concrete connection is effective. However, as the entire process is based on time-from waiting for the baby to watching the child grow-the concept of utilizing a time-relative item like a “watch” makes sense.
For instance, in the first line of ‘ Morning Song’, the baby is compared to a “fat gold watch.” This is a very unusual description to connect to a child, which could confuse the reader. The reader learns the baby “cr” after “he midwife slapped footsoles,” and that the people in attendance “ voice” their reactions for the “arrival,” but beyond these relatively typical factors of a baby being born, there are other less standard details that surface within the chosen vernacular. While these two stanzas paint the scene for a newly born child and the adults who are present at the birth, they do so in a unique way.
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