I Ask My Mother To Sing Analysis

Written in 1986 by Li-Young Lee the poem “I Ask My Mother to Sing” tells the immigrant story. Lee himself is an immigrant, his family came to the United States in 1959 fleeing persecution. In his poem Lee captures, the pain and sadness immigrants face as they try to remain connected to their homeland. The title itself says a lot about the poem, although its meaning is made clear later. In the fifth line Lee states how he does not know what his home country is like, he has “Never been in Peking, or the summer palace”. Lee is asking his mother to sing so that he can learn about the places he has never been too but is nonetheless attached to. The poem as a whole reads much like a song, rhythmic and enchanting. The first stanza is a continuation of the title. The result of the request for a song is a duet. Lee’s mother begins to sing a song full of nostalgia which makes his grandmother join in too. The song they sing is not named but it is obvious that it is a song from the homeland. In the second stanza Chinese landmarks are named. Places like “Kuen Ming Lake” and the “Summer Palace”. Lee hears these and pays close attention to every lyric. In the same way his own poem paints an
Lee appeals to the senses when he speaks of water and waterlilies. In the stanza he speaks about how he loves to hear about waterlilies filling with rain until they spill only to rock back and fill with more. Upon reading these lines the reader can almost hear the sound of rain, see the waterlilies, and feel the rocking motion. All these paint a peaceful, beautiful picture but are followed by a harsh final stanza. A stanza that paints a terribly sad picture “Both women have begun to cry, but neither stops her song”. The Glee has left and is overtaken by sadness. Sadness from the loss of a home. The water falling onto the water lilies is no longer rain but tears. Tears that are continuous and could fill the lilies the same way the rain