My Mother Poem by Ann Taylor
– My Mother Poem by Ann Taylor –
Who sat and watched my infant head
When sleeping on my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.
When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gazed upon my heavy eye,
And wept for fear that I should die?
My Mother.
Who taught my infant lips to pray
And love God’s holy book and day,
And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way?
My Mother.
And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who wast so very kind to me,
My Mother?
Ah, no! the thought I cannot bear,
And if God please my life to spare
I hope I shall reward they care,
My Mother.
When thou art feeble, old and grey,
My healthy arm shall be thy stay,
And I will soothe thy pains away,
My Mother.
About the Poet
Ann Taylor was a poet and literary critic who lived from 1783 to 1866. She and her sister Jane, who is best known for the classic children’s verse “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” were born in England to a successful and well-educated family and wrote a number of children’s books.
Ann also composed several hymns. Ann was a passionate supporter of animal welfare and was also interested in social issues. She was widowed in her late sixties and traveled extensively until her death.
Analysis of the Poem
Ann Taylor is the author of this poem. She is well-known for her lyrical poetry. She used very simple diction in this poem. She expresses her deep love for her mother in this poem.
She recalls her mother lovingly caring for her when she was a child. Her mother sat near the cradle and lovingly watched her as she slept in it. Her mother used to dress her up in nice gay outfits.
She showed her how to speak and play. Whenever she fell, her mother would pick her up, kiss her on the forehead, and tell her a story to calm her down.
Mother’s love, according to the poetess, knows no bounds. Now she has promised herself that when her mother grows old and frail, she will serve her. It is her responsibility to care for her mother as her mother did for her as a child.
Style of the Poem
Stylistically, the poem has six quatrains, each exploring the unending love between a child and the mother.
Each stanza is concluded with a line of two words, “My Mother”. The frequent recurrent of the phrase is instrumental in the musicality of the poem. The repetition of “My Mother” in the poem brings about lyricism and makes them worthy of appreciation by school kids in nursery schools.
It has a rhyme of correspondence of aaa, bbb, ccc, ddd, ccc, and ccc, excluding the concluding phrase.