The title, “Mum Dad and Me” suggests that the poem is going to compare the parents and

the child
because the first half has “Mum Dad” without a comma and then “Me” is separated by and.

Firstly, the poet suggests that the parents are strong because he says, “My parents grew among
palmtrees.” The use of the word palmtree connotes a tall, strong structure which is then associated with
the parents. Furthermore, the word is associated with nature which implies that the parents grew up in
nature which made them resilient and tough to withstand the elements.

Secondly, the poet suggests that the child is weak because he says, “I grow in weather that’s pale, misty,
watery or plain cold.” The juxtaposition to the previous lines that describe how his parents grew shows
the stark contrast between their growing conditions, which makes the child’s growing conditions look
worse. Also, the semantic field of “pale, misty, watery or plain cold” creates an imagery of dullness and
dreariness because of them denoting bad weather, so this suggests that the child is not allowed outside
often which deteriorates his health.

Finally, the poet suggests that the child is sheltered and overprotected, as he says, “I swim in a roofed
pool.” The roofed pool is symbolic of how closed off the child is from the real world because he is in an
artificial body of water as opposed to in the sea. The word ‘pool’ suggests that the water is limited
because it is something that is controlled, thus implying the restrictions the child has.