The poem is short and a little puzzling, but its shape is clear: something ambitious gives way to something ordinary. The speaker begins with a line about missing "the ordnance in hope," which is an odd phrase. Ordnance means weapons or ammunition, so hope seems to have a loaded, even dangerous edge that the speaker has somehow failed to catch or use. Then the poem turns, "as far as the peak," as if a climb or a grand effort has reached its limit.
After that, everything drops into the everyday. The speaker goes "home to church / and a ham supper," a cozy, modest picture of community and routine. The title, "Lowered expectations," helps explain the shift. Big hopes shrink to something small and comforting.
The mood is wry, quiet, and gently resigned. There is a hint of disappointment, but also some warmth. The ham supper may not be thrilling, yet it is real, and the poem seems to accept that with a shrug rather than a complaint.