Sompsin's "Mother & Son" follows one boy from babyhood to adulthood, and the same line comes back at the end of every stage: "I love you, my son." The boy changes a lot. He starts as a baby held close, becomes a toddler who wants to run free and refuses his mother's hand, then a teenager who shouts and says "I hate you." The mother never changes her answer.
The mood is tender and quietly sad. The repetition makes her love feel steady and patient, even when the son pushes her away. The last stanza shifts the tone. The son stands tall in a suit and tie, "final goodbyes" are said, and the roses suggest a funeral or farewell, though the poem doesn't say outright whose. For the first time he says "I love you" back, and she answers with "always." The poem seems to suggest that her love was there the whole time, waiting for him to catch up.