the way my mother speaks

• 'I say her phrases to myself'

  Use of first person. The use of the first person draws the reader in to the poet’s personal thoughts.
• ‘in my head

  or under the shallows of my

  breath'. Word choice ‘shallows’ suggests anxiety, short of breath, nervousness at leaving home, leaving her mother. She repeats her mother’s phrases to comfort herself. They are reassuring. The word ‘shallows’ also has connotations of water and sound waves which could represent that her mother’s sounds are integral to her being
• ‘restful shapes moving'. Word choice, oxymoron metaphor The word ‘restful’ suggests when she imagines her mother’s voice she is calmed by the thought. The words are described as shapes swimming around her head and she is soothed by them. An oxymoron of being restful (still) but still moving corresponds with the idea of Duffy on a train, sitting still, but still moving across the landscape.
• ‘The day and ever. The day

  and ever.’ Italics Repetition Word choice The repetition of her mother’s phrase mirrors the sound and rhythmical moving of the train – lulling and calming her down – the use of italics represents her mother’s voice in her head. The use of the word ‘ever’ emphasises that her mother’s voice will always be there for eternity and will last her whole life. She will always have

  that strong connection and bond with her mother no matter how far away she travels.
• 'The train this slow evening

  goes down England' Elongated vowel sounds The elongated vowel sounds in this line stretches the time and adds to the unhurried mood of the ‘slow’ evening. The setting in time and place is strengthened by the use of the ‘evening’ when the day is winding down and the light is fading. You can imagine the train on the map or the track wending its way down the UK (perhaps from Scotland) or from north of England to the south.
• browsing for the right sky

  too blue swapped for a cool

  grey.’ Personification Word choice Contrast metaphor The word ‘browsing’ as well as adding to the unhurried mood with the elongated vowel sound has connotations of unrushed uncertainty as if you are not quite sure what you are looking for. The use of the word ‘right’ suggests that the poet might be searching for the correct path to follow
• For miles I have been saying

  'What like is it'

  The way I say things when I

  think. Italics Another example of her mother’s voice being heard in her head. She has been repeating her mother’s phrase as the train moves. Like a mantra. Like here is used both as a noun and a verb. She is trying to describe the scenery that is passing outside the train window to her mother’s voice. The ‘think’ suggests her inner voice is linked to her mother and she has had a huge effect on her
• Nothing is silent. Nothing is

  not silent.

  What like is it. Parallel structuring Repetition here of the double negative in the second phrase could mean that what does not exist in the here and now (your memories, your past) still has a voice in your head
• 'Only tonight'

  I am happy and sad Contradiction These contradiction reveals an uncertainty about how the poet is feeling. Perhaps sad to leave her mother or mourning the end of her childhood? Happy about the future – likes the fact she still has a connection with the past? She is ambivalent.
• 'like a child

  who stood at the end of

  summer

  and dipped a net

  in a green, erotic pond.' Simile Word choice Just as a child stands and dips their net into a pond filled with frogspawn so too does Duffy journey from childhood to adulthood and goes from innocence to sexual (carnal) knowledge. She is on the cusp of adulthood experimenting (dipping) with the adult world. The use of the word ‘green’ suggests a naiveté but the word ‘erotic’ has a more adult, sexual connotation. The juxtaposition of the two could reflect a melding of the child turning into the adult.
• The day

  and ever. The day and ever. Italics Repetition Another comforting mantra from her mother. No matter what she has to confront in the future she has her mother’s voice to give her strength. They both now share the same phrases.
• 'I am homesick, free, in love

  with the way my mother

  speaks.' Listing of emotions Enjambement Homesick for the past, for her mother, but also free to establish new identity and new life in England. But still deeply attached to her mother and her influence over her. She returns to the title of the poem reiterating to the reader how important her mother is to her.