I Ask My Mother to Sing

“I Ask My Mother to Sing” is a lyric poem. A typical lyric poem is on the short side and expresses the personal emotions and thoughts of the poet. Historically, lyric poems were supposed to be sung out loud or supplemented by musical instruments. Lee’s poem references the lyric tradition since it’s centered on singing.

The poem’s title provides structure and context. Without the title, the first line isn’t clear. With the title, the first line makes sense. The speaker makes a request: He asks his mother to sing. The first line of the poem picks up where the title leaves off. The mom complies with the speaker’s request and sings. The speaker’s grandma sings too. Together, the mom and the grandma create a jovial mood. The simile in Line 2 reinforces the merriment; the speaker compares his mom and grandma to “young girls,” which suggests vibrancy and energy.

In Line 3, the mood of the poem shifts. The arrival of the speaker’s father brings death. The speaker’s father is not alive; he can’t join the singing. The absent father adds somberness. However, the mood doesn’t become entirely mournful. The speaker speculates that if his dad were alive, he would complement the singing with his accordion. As with his mom and grandma, the speaker uses a simile to illustrate his dad’s mood. The speaker says his dad would “sway like a boat” (Line 4). The movement animates his dad and contributes to the overall lively mood of Stanza 1.

In Stanza 2, the imagery changes. The speaker goes from a warm familiar scene to enumerating places in China that he’s never visited. The primary image in Stanza 2 encompasses Lines 6-8. The speaker paints a picture of him standing on the Stone Boat, a majestic pavilion that was built in 1755, looking out onto a lake and watching picnickers flee oncoming rain.

The main image in Stanza 2 links to one of the poem’s central themes: loss. In Stanza 1, loss is addressed indirectly through the mom and grandma, who “sing like young girls” (Line 2). In reality, the mom and grandma have lost their physical youth. Loss is addressed again in Stanza 1 when the speaker notes the loss of his father.

In Stanza 2, the speaker loses out on experiencing first-hand the attractions of China. The best the speaker can do is imagine what it’s like to stand on the Stone Boat and observe how the picnickers react to the change in weather. The picnickers, too, endure loss, since the rain interferes with their presumably nice picnic.

In the third stanza, the speaker returns to the theme of singing. In Line 9, the speaker says, “I love to hear it sung.” In Lines 10-12, the speaker presents an intricate image of waterlilies and rain. The proximity of the singing and rain unite the two. The rain is a symbol of singing and music. The speaker’s mom and grandma “fill” (Line 10) their space with their song just as the rain fills the waterlilies. The “rock back” (Line 12) links back to the swaying motion of the dad, who, if alive, would be playing his accordion and moving back and forth like a boat.

The final stanza is only two lines long, which means it’s a couplet. Lines 13-14 maintain the mood shifts that occur throughout the poem. In Line 13, the mom and grandma begin to cry. They are sad and mournful. Their sorrow, however, doesn’t prevent them from singing. Their persistence ends the poem on an optimistic note. Despite their tears, they carry on.

The determination of the women to keep singing aligns with the tone of the poem. The tone is controlled and assertive. The speaker matter-of-factly lays out the action. His narration is fairly dispassionate. Only a couple of words—”great” (Line 6) and “love” (Line 9)—hint at the speaker’s personal feelings about China and the singing. Overall, the speaker preserves an objective tone. The speaker presents personal scenes without a lot of emotion. The speaker is more like an observer. He’s watching his mom and grandma and relaying his invented memories as if he’s separate from them.

Due to the link between the poem’s subject matter and Lee’s personal history, it’s safe to refer to the speaker as Lee. Lee is speaking about his mom, his grandma, and his father. As Lee was born in Indonesia and then came to the United States, he never experienced certain sights and sounds in China. The definition of a lyric poem is further reason to cast Lee in the role of the speaker. A lyric typically conveys personal and intimate feelings, which Lee does, albeit in a detached tone.