What is the poem "On the Receipt of My Mother's Picture Out of Norfolk" about?

William Cowper's poem "On the Receipt of My Mother's
Picture Out of Norfolk" is a memorial poem.

In the poem,
Cowper (in the opening line) wishes that his mother was alive so that he could talk with
her.

OH that
those lips had language! Life has
passed

Cowper remembers how
his mother's voice would calm and comfort him during his times of need. He recognizes
her smile given he shares the same smile with her (he recognizes that their smiles are
the same).

The movement of the poem follows one of
bereavement. Upon first glance of the picture, Cowper wishes that he could hear her
voice. Next, he remembers how she would calm and nurture him. The picture seems to have
come to him unexpectedly and he was not necessarily ready to relive the experience of
her death.

Next, Cowper tells the reader about when he
first heard the news of his mother's death. The news caused him to cry and he felt her
hovering over him so as to comfort him even after her
death.

Cowper then states his realization that he will not
be able to see his mother again until they meet "on that peaceful shore"- meaning after
his own death. Cowper then tells of his time after his death and how he always continued
to think of her.

Towards the end of the poem, Cowper
ponders the thought of his life if his mother had been with him growing up. His life
would have been something very different.

In the end,
Cowper states the fact that his mother has died and could not return. He states that his
mother's ability to comfort him left with her death:

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Thyself removed, thy power to soothe me
left.