The poem is basically about the poet reminiscing and fondly remembering his own father.
The strongest mental picture that he has is one in which his father is standing in the garden of the Beverley Farms home which was his father's last abode. He is immaculately dressed in his favourite clothes and is looking smart and energetic.
In the author's view, the garden of his father's house was not very appropriately done up and had a large stone occupying the central portion. Though the stone gave it some similarity with a Japanese garden, it was somewhat incomplete, since the stone was the only piece that contributed to this semblance.
The poet's father had no qualms about being considered old fashioned but preferred to stick to his favourite drink "Bourbon". It seems from the poem that his father was a man of simple tastes. He cherished the gifts given to him as is clear from the fact that he retained a simple gift of the six pointed lantern given to him on his last Birthday.
His father had not been keeping well and had had two heart attacks. He had been overweight and it was only a little while before his death that he had lost weight and become lean. Old Mr. Lowell never wanted to be a burden on his children. It seems that he moved his residence to the Beverley Farms basically to be able to reach his doctor easily for regular checkups. The poet was not very happy about the fact that this house did not have a good view and was uncomfortably close to the railway tracks. .
Despite his failing health, his father was willing to take risks and save money. However, if he had one passion, it was his car. In fact he did not try to economise at all and even paid the dealer extra money over and above the regular price to make sure that he got the piece that he wanted. It was a special Edition with Golden plating in spite of the regular chrome plating. He however always had the grudge that the dealer was unfair to him in charging him so much for this car.
