To My Son
To My Son - fact Summary
Addressed to Medora Leigh
This short poem is believed to be addressed to Byron's illegitimate son, Medora Leigh. The speaker greets the newborn with conflicted feeling: rejecting the idea that the child is a solution to guilt while confessing fear that parental need will stifle the child's freedom. The poem frames a vow—expressed through prayerful lines—that the parent will not become a self-serving guardian who demands dependence from the child.
Read Complete AnalysesWelcome, you, so small and strange. I cannot think your gift is due; Need that drinks away the guilt Of carelessly conceiving you. Never in your teens and twenties May I turn around and say: The balm of need is all forgotten; Children for their succour pay. Never as you grow to manhood May I feed your need for me, Breeding up a lolling monster, Guarding you from living free. Can you hear my prayers, my child, Deaf and dumb and blind in sleep? Perfect witness to a promise Mothers almost never keep.
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