The speaker of the poem reflects on the loss of his grandfather, whom he refers to as “my Father's Father," a reference to the distance in their relationship. The speaker's grandfather is described as someone who was once perceived as a strong and positive figure—"O for the tall tower broken"—but who was reserved, as seen in the repeated line "his heart had never spoken." Death reveals the result of this reticence: a fraught relationship with his family, as "Memorial is denied."
The scene then shifts to the family attending the funeral ceremony for the speaker's grandfather. The speaker juxtaposes "the unchanging cairn," an allusion to his grandfather's "stony" steadfastness, with the ceremonial bagpipes setting "ablaze / An aaronsrod and blossom." The effect of this juxtaposition is to emphasize that while the grandfather was closed off to other people, he still maintained some connection with nature. This connection will be explored in greater detail later on. Next, the speaker shows us the mourners, saying, "They stood by the graveside / From his bitter veins born / And mourned him in their fashion." It is clear that the grandfather's family did not have a close connection to him, as their mourning is private ("in their fashion"), though the speaker points out that they are united in being "From his bitter veins born."
The speaker then allows us to see his grandfather as he was while he was still alive. It is clear that he was a strong man who was in touch with nature. He worked with sods of grass and carried a cherry tree "Under the lion sun." Even in his old age, the grandfather retained this connection to the natural world, viewing "The stars in their drunken dancing / Through the burning-glass of his mind." Despite the grandfather's strength, he never outwardly showed pride or any other emotion, even to those closest to him. The speaker says, "He knew in the hour he died / That his heart had never spoken / In song or bridal bed."
Finally, we see the grandfather on his deathbed and are given insight into his final thoughts. He recalls a childhood home—"a house by the waterside"—and the innocence of boyhood. He remembers the waves crashing all night long and thinks about how the sea takes many lives. Yet, this memory gives him peace, and the grandfather dies "unafraid."
