Question

summary of poem CLM​

Answer 1

Stanza 1

In the dark womb where I began

My mother’s life made me a man.

Through all the months of human birth

Her beauty fed my common earth.

Stanza 2

I cannot see, nor breathe, nor stir,

But through the death of some of her.

Down in the darkness of the grave

She cannot see the life she gave.

Stanza 3

For all her love, she cannot tell

Whether I use it ill or well,

Nor knock at dusty doors to find

Her beauty dusty in the mind.

Stanza 4

If the grave’s gates could be undone,

She would not know her little son,

I am so grown. If we should meet,

She would pass by me in the street,

Unless my soul’s face let her see

My sense of what she did for me.

Stanza 5

What have I done to keep in mind

My debt to her and womankind?

What woman’s happier life repays

Her for those months of wretched days?

For all my mouthless body leeched

Ere Birth’s releasing hell was reached?

Stanza 6

What have I done, or tried, or said

In thanks to that dear woman dead?

Men triumph over women still,

Men trample women’s rights at will.

And man’s lust roves the world untamed.

O grave, keep shut lest I be shamed.

Answer 2

$\huge\textbf{Answer}$

The poet dedicates this poem to his mother Caroline Masefield who dies when he was only six years old. Probably CLM is indicative of his mother’s name, CaroLine Masefield. We are still in search of a better answer.

$\huge\textbf{ Stanza 1}$

In the dark womb where I began

My mother’s life made me a man.

Through all the months of human birth

Her beauty fed my common earth.

Meaning

Womb – Mother’s uterus (the internal sac in which a baby developes)

Where I began – Where my life began

Through all the months of human birth – the ten months during which a baby grows inside its mother’s womb

Her beauty fed – Childbearing mothers lose their charm and health

My common earth – My body

$\huge\textbf{ Stanza 2 }$

I cannot see, nor breathe, nor stir,

But through the death of some of her.

Down in the darkness of the grave

She cannot see the life she gave.

Meaning

Stir – Move

Breathe – Take breath in and out

The death of some of her – As said above, a mother’s beauty and health deteriorate/decline during pregnancy

Down in the darkness of the grave – She is dead and buried in a grave

She cannot see the life she gave – The poet is sad that his mother cannot see him as she is no more

$\huge\textbf{ Stanza 3 }$

For all her love, she cannot tell

Whether I use it ill or well,

Nor knock at dusty doors to find

Her beauty dusty in the mind.

Meaning

For all her love, she cannot tell –

Whether I use it ill or well – Whether I use my charm for good or bad

Nor knock at dusty doors to find

Her beauty dusty in the mind.

$\huge\textbf{Stanza 4 }$

If the grave’s gates could be undone,

She would not know her little son,

I am so grown. If we should meet,

She would pass by me in the street,

Unless my soul’s face let her see

My sense of what she did for me.

Meaning

If the grave’s gates could be undone,

She would not know her little son, I am so grown.

If we should meet, she would pass by me in the street,

Unless my soul’s face let her see my sense of what she did for me.

$\huge\textbf{ Stanza 5}$

What have I done to keep in mind

My debt to her and womankind?

What woman’s happier life repays

Her for those months of wretched days?

For all my mouthless body leeched

Ere Birth’s releasing hell was reached?

Meaning

What have I done to keep in mind my debt to her and womankind?

What woman’s happier life repays her for those months of wretched days?

For all my mouthless body leeched ere Birth’s releasing hell was reached?

$\huge\textbf{ Stanza 6 }$

What have I done, or tried, or said

In thanks to that dear woman dead?

Men triumph over women still,

Men trample women’s rights at will.

And man’s lust roves the world untamed.

O grave, keep shut lest I be shamed.

Meaning

What have I done, or tried, or said in thanks to that dear woman dead?

Men triumph over women still, men trample women’s rights at will.

And man’s lust roves the world untamed.

O grave, keep shut lest I be shamed.

$\huge\textbf{I hope you got it }$