Somebody’s Mother Summary in English: Stanza-Wise Explanation, Theme and Moral (Class 8)

Somebody’s Mother is a poem by the 19th-century American poet Mary Dow Brine. It is part of the NCERT Class 8 English textbook Poorvi, in Unit 2, “Values and Dispositions”. This Somebody’s Mother summary gives a short summary, a stanza-wise explanation, word meanings, the theme and moral, poetic devices and model answers to the textbook questions.

About the Poem and the Poet

NCERT prints the poem in couplets of two lines each. Many study guides group these couplets into larger parts, and this page does the same, in seven stanzas, so that it is easier to follow the story.

Somebody’s Mother Summary in English

On a cold winter day, an old woman in ragged clothes and with grey hair stands at a road crossing. The street is wet with fresh snow, and she is too weak and frightened to cross alone. She waits for a long time, but the people passing by do not notice her worried eyes.

A crowd of schoolboys comes down the street, happy that school is over. They run past her without offering any help. At last, one cheerful boy stops, offers to help her cross, and gently guides her across the slippery road. He feels proud and happy that his strong feet could support her trembling ones.

When he returns to his friends, he reminds them that she is somebody’s mother. He hopes that someone will help his own mother in the same way if she is ever old and poor and he is far away. That night, the old woman bows her head and prays that God be kind to the noble boy, who is “somebody’s son”.

Somebody’s Mother Summary Stanza by Stanza (Stanza-Wise Explanation) 

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 1 (Lines 1–4), An Old Woman on a Winter Day

The woman was old and ragged and grey
And bent with the chill of the Winter’s day.
The street was wet with a recent snow
And the woman’s feet were aged and slow.

The poet introduces the woman through a few clear details. She is old, her clothes are worn and torn, and her hair is grey. She is bent because of the cold, and the street is wet from fresh snow. Her slow, aged feet tell us that moving about is difficult for her. The setting makes her look weak and in need of help.

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 2 (Lines 5–8), Waiting at the Crossing

She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng
Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eyes.

The woman waits a long time at the crossing. Although she is surrounded by a crowd, she is “alone” and “uncared for”. People pass by and do not notice the worry in her eyes. This stanza shows how a person can feel lonely even in a crowd.

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 3 (Lines 9–14), The Schoolboys Hurry Past

Down the street, with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of “school let out,”
Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep.
Past the woman so old and grey
Hastened the children on their way.

The mood changes suddenly. School has ended, and the boys are noisy and happy. The poet compares them to “a flock of sheep” (a simile) to show that they move together in a lively crowd. They welcome the deep snow with joy, but they hurry past the old woman. The contrast between their cheerful mood and her anxious state is the key idea of this stanza.

Mother Summary: Stanza 4 (Lines 15–18), Afraid to Move

Nor offered a helping hand to her —
So meek, so timid, afraid to stir
Lest the carriage wheels or the horses’ feet
Should crowd her down in the slippery street.

No one offers help. The old woman is “meek” and “timid”, and she is afraid to step forward in case the carriages and horses knock her down on the slippery street. Her fear shows how helpless she feels, and the stanza makes us notice how little help would have changed her situation.

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 5 (Lines 19–26), One Boy Helps

At last came one of the merry troop,
The gayest laddie of all the group;
He paused beside her and whispered low,
“I’ll help you cross, if you wish to go.”
Her aged hand on his strong young arm
She placed, and so, without hurt or harm,
He guided the trembling feet along,
Proud that his own were firm and strong.

One boy from the cheerful group stops. He speaks softly (“whispered low”) and politely (“if you wish to go”), so he respects her feelings. She places her hand on his arm, and he guides her safely across. The contrast between her “trembling feet” and his “firm and strong” feet shows the difference between old age and youth. His pride is not arrogance. He is glad that his strength can help someone who needs it.

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 6 (Lines 27–34), “She’s Somebody’s Mother”

Then back again to his friends he went,
His young heart happy and well content.
“She’s somebody’s mother, boys, you know,
For all she’s aged and poor and slow”,
“And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother, you understand”,
“If ever she’s poor and old and grey,
When her own dear boy is far away.”

The boy goes back to his friends, happy and satisfied. He tells them that the old woman is somebody’s mother, however old, poor or slow she may be. He then imagines his own mother in the same situation and hopes that someone will help her. This shows empathy: he understands another person’s need by thinking of someone he loves. It also gently reminds his friends that they should have helped her too.

Somebody’s Mother Summary: Stanza 7 (Lines 35–38), The Old Woman’s Prayer

And “somebody’s mother” bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said
Was “God be kind to the noble boy,
Who is somebody’s son, and pride and joy!”

The poem ends with the old woman’s gratitude. At home that night, she bows her head and prays for the boy. She calls him “somebody’s son”, which echoes the phrase “somebody’s mother”. The ending completes the poem’s circle: a mother is cared for by a son, and she blesses another mother’s son.

Word Meanings in Somebody’s Mother

These words help you understand the Somebody’s Mother summary and the poem’s language.

Theme of Somebody’s Mother

In this Somebody’s Mother summary, the central theme of the poem is kindness and empathy. The old woman is ignored by many people, and one small act of help changes her situation. The poem also shows that we should see every elderly person as someone’s mother or father, with a family and a life, and not as a stranger. A second idea is that the boy imagines his own mother in the woman’s place, so empathy begins when we picture ourselves or our loved ones in another person’s situation.

Moral of Somebody’s Mother

The moral in this Somebody’s Mother summary is that we should notice and help people who are weak or alone, especially the elderly, and treat them with the respect we want for our own family. Kindness costs very little, but it can mean a great deal to the person who receives it. The poem also asks us not to hurry past people in need because we are busy or having fun.

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Theme of the Poem 

The central theme of Somebody's Mother is the importance of kindness and humanity. The poem shows that in a world where most people are too busy to notice others' struggles, one small act of care can make a profound difference.

The poem also explores the idea that every elderly person is someone's mother or father — they deserve respect and help, not indifference. The boy understands this instinctively, and that understanding transforms him from an ordinary child into an extraordinary one.

A secondary theme is the law of reciprocity — what you give comes back to you. The boy believes that because he helps someone's mother today, his own mother will be helped by someone someday. This is not a selfish calculation; it is a hopeful belief in the goodness of the world.

Poetic Devices, Rhyme Scheme and Tone in Somebody’s Mother

Use this table with the Somebody’s Mother summary above to answer questions on style.

Rhyme scheme: The poem is written in rhyming couplets (AABB), for example, grey/day, snow/slow and long/throng. Tone: sympathetic and hopeful. The mood moves from sadness and neglect to warmth and hope.

Somebody’s Mother Questions and Answers (Class 8 Poorvi)

Use these answers after you have read the Somebody’s Mother summary.

1. Why does the boy decide to help the old woman? What does this tell us about him?

He sees that she is old, afraid and alone, and he thinks of his own mother. This shows that he is kind, thoughtful and brave enough to act differently from his friends.

2. How does the poet show the helplessness of the old woman?

The poet shows her as “old and ragged and grey”, “bent” with the cold, with “aged and slow” feet. She is “alone, uncared for” in the crowd, and she is “so meek, so timid, afraid to stir” because of the carriages and horses.

3. How was the boy’s approach different from that of the other boys?

The other boys hurried past, busy with their own fun, while this boy paused, spoke gently and offered help politely. He thought about her needs and not only about his own enjoyment.

4. Justify the appropriateness of the title of the poem.

The phrase “somebody’s mother” reminds us that the old woman is not a stranger but a person with a family. The boy uses it to explain why she deserves help, and she calls him “somebody’s son” in her prayer. The title therefore contains the poem’s main message.

5. What might be the old woman’s fears while she waits at the crossing?

She may be afraid of slipping on the wet street, of being knocked down by the carriages and horses, and of being ignored by everyone around her.

6. What does the poem suggest about the role of empathy and humanity in society?

It suggests that a kind society depends on people noticing others’ needs and acting on them. Empathy leads to simple acts of help, and these acts spread warmth and trust.

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