Ridpath turns an ordinary morning routine into something quietly unsettling. The speaker washes, shaves, and brushes their teeth, and the sound of the drain seems to carry off their "sins" along with the dirty water. But the fresh start is only apparent. The line "Keeping up appearances" suggests that the routine is less about cleaning up than about getting ready to perform.
The poem's turning point comes at the mirror, where the speaker fails to recognise the face looking back: "Whose that staring blankly at me." What follows reads like a stage direction, "Smile for show," and then a hidden plea, "Please don't go," which is repeated. Judging by the text, the speaker may be begging someone else to stay, or begging their own fading self not to disappear. Either way, the smile is a shield over something dark.
The mood is numb, tired, and lonely. Short, clipped lines mimic the repetitive motions of the routine, and the repeated plea cracks the surface of that calm.