While she never once mentions the word itself, all road signs lead to the piece speaking of a newborn child.
At first, it is best to read the poem as a whole to attempt and gauge the tone and understand where each line led. After the first couple reads, it is onto each stanza and individual line where meaning becomes more evident and metaphors gain weight. There are specific phrases that let us believe we are reading about a child, such as, "The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry/ Took its place among the elements." (Plath). The most important five words come in line 7, "I'm no more your mother/" (Plath). If the reader has any reservations of what the piece is about, they are reassured with that simple statement. The poem goes on to allow the speaker, or the mother of the newborn child, to express her feelings upon the situation. From the beginning on, our speaker is growing as a mother and she is realizing that there is a relationship being formed. As the baby begins to cry into the wee hours of the night, the mother carries her to a window and the two watch the night turn to day. They share this moment and it appears they grow closer with each passing minute. The poem comes to completion with the baby yearning to communicate. The child tries a "handful of notes" and Plath relates the sounds of the vowels to a group of balloons rising. .
Observations.
The more that I read the poem, the more I begin to understand and agree with Plath's chosen title, Morning Song. The title appears to be a culmination of the piece as a whole, as if each stanza is leading up to the morning song that the child is metaphorically singing. Lines seventeen and eighteen read, "Your handful of notes;/ The clear vowels rise like balloons." (Plath). She is very clearly likening the sounds of the child to the creation of musical elements. The title of Morning Song sets the stage for the rapid journey of growth that the mother experiences within the piece.