Analysis

The poem follows the day of an old mother.

She rises at dawn and kneels and blows the fire until it glows.

The fire is described as a ‘seed’ as if it something that grows, like a plant or a child. She creates life, even at this old age.

There is a sense of daily duty to perform ‘then I must scrub and bake and sweep’ the list-like quality of this line emphasising the long list of tasks to perform.

She does this ‘till starts are beginning to blink and peep’ meaning until night time, so she works hard all day long.

Meanwhile the young are asleep, dreaming of good things such as ‘matching ribbons’ almost as if they deal with trivialities, with their days being merely ‘idleness’.

They seem to ‘sigh’ or complain, at the slightest thing.

The old woman feels annoyed as she works ‘because I am old’ and for no other reason.

The final image shows that her life is coming to a close ‘and the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold’ as if she is running out of light, warmth and energy.

The poem is one that can be related to by old and young even now, as old people seem to complain about the idleness of youth.

There are rhyming couplets throughout to create the song-like feel to the poem, to match the title. It is more a lament (sad song) of how hard the old woman’s life is.