The speaker is unhappy with her body and her life, and the poem drifts between those two feelings. It opens with a wish to "crawl into myself / and roll away," a desire to disappear. She longs for a better age when "love and knowledge" replace "obscene curiosity," which suggests she feels stared at or judged. Getting older, she feels she hasn't even begun living, and her swearing ("Jesus") sounds weary and frustrated. Her growing middle seems to have a life of its own, "ignorant / of my repulsion."
Then the poem shifts to a woman in a bathtub, described in cold, physical detail: rough, peeling material, a green rubber plug, reflections in chrome. The bath is meant to comfort, but the images feel flat and slightly shabby. The closing mention of "Songs for the King's Supper" adds a wry touch, a bit of luxury set against ordinary surroundings. The mood is lonely, self-conscious, and quietly ironic.