A speaker looks into a mirror and notices a blue curtain reflected in it. He imagines that if he could lift that reflection and look further, he would find a young boy crying alone. The boy’s sister is sick in another room, and he has no one to play with. He scatters building blocks listlessly, upset that nobody will build him the palace of Fairy Morgana. The speaker describes this as if the child is a version of himself or a memory caught just out of reach. The poem creates a quiet, sad mood of loneliness and longing. The mirror and the stiff, frozen curtain suggest a barrier between the present and the past, or between the adult speaker and his younger self. He wants to comfort that boy, but cannot move beyond the reflection.
Old Nursery — Summary
In the tired face of the mirror There is a blue curtain reflected. If I could lift the reflection, Peer a little beyond, I would see A boy crying Because his sister is ill in another room And he has no one to play with: A boy listlessly scattering building blocks, And crying, Because no one will build for him the palace of Fairy Morgana. I cannot lift the curtain: It is stiff and frozen.