The poem is split into two sections (I & II) consisting of eight and seven stanzas respectively. The sections are both in Harrison's distinct 16-line sonnet form. They adhere strictly to a simple a b a b rhyme scheme throughout (dead - bed, pie - try, looks - books) except the last two lines that are inverted. Each line consists of five feet, or is pentametric, except for section II, line 15 which has eight feet (octametric). Attention is drawn to section I, lines five, six and section II, lines three, four, eleven and twelve as these are in italics as well as "Florence" in section II line two which is in uppercase.

The persona appears to be a son or daughter reflecting on the mother's death, the motions and emotions that he and his dad go through and a retrospective view, with regret, on the relationships within the family.

"Baked the day she suddenly dropped dead / we chew it slowly that last apple pie". "She", presumably the mother, is immediately associated with warm, cosy and homely sensations of baking and apple pie. The alliteration "dropped dead" emphasizes the surprised and morbid feeling and they try to come to terms with it as they slowly chew the last apple pie. "Shocked

After tumblers of neat Johnny Walker

and you can't tell them what the fuck to put!

mis-spelt, mawkish, stylistically appalling

for all the Scotch we drink, what's still between 's

Your life's all shattered into smithereens.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Book Norton, Johnny Walker, Book Baked, Robert Browning, apple pie, books books, section ii, sit sleep stare, sleep stare, yellow spike, scared bed, sit sleep, dropped dead, worn poor pay, chew slowly apple, slowly apple pie, blue gas, bud yellow, suddenly dropped dead,
Approximate Word count = 1289
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)