This line doubles as a potential moment of autobiographical poetry for Johnston. In her autobiography, published in the same book as "The Last Sark," she writes that even though the abuses of her youth left her suicidal many a time:

"I did not, however, feel inclined to die when I could no longer conceal what the world falsely calls a woman’s shame. No, on the other hand, I never loved life more dearly and longed for the hour when I would have something to love me-and my wish was realised by becoming the mother of a lovely daughter on the 14th of September, 1852."

After the birth of her daughter, her tone toward her personal death in her autobiography shifts, no longer claiming suicidal ideation, and instead a will to live.

Johnston keeps up a strict rhyme scheme throughout the poem - aabbccbb, etc. However, the speaker's somewhat fourth wall breaking exclamation here tips that rhyme scheme on its head. Blin', in the Scots dialect, is a near rhyme with the word him, though that rhyme is lost some in other accents. Beyond the loose rhyme here, the outburst also changes the otherwise even flow of the rhythm through the poem.

The thought of her child falling to the floor forces the speaker out of her careful patterns, highlighting the mother's love and care for her children.

the Guardian. ‘Pandemic Forcing Girls in South-East Asia and Pacific out of School and into Marriage – Study’, 15 March 2021. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/16/pandemic-forcing-girls-in-south-east-asia-and-pacific-out-of-school-and-into-marriage-study.

"In order to balance I never left anything pending on my to-do-list for tomorrow. If I did, I worked on break shift from home post putting her off to sleep. This was possible because I could manage my office on laptop. To release the pressure points I tore papers, took cold water bath in the middle of the night, laid on the floor in child pose." Monica Suri

This sounds like a precursor to the idea of republican motherhood. This became popular in the 20th century and used by feminists to support gaining rights, even as republican motherhood is advocating for women to stay home and raise children. The idea is women are valuable because they instill/protect American values in their children and husbands. It seems that Willard and the women we read last week are making similar moves: motherhood is often used against women, but women counter that motherhood is the very reason they need education, literacy, suffrage--so they can become better mothers and protect, not just national, but religious values.

This sounds like a precursor to the idea of republican motherhood. This became popular in the 20th century and used by feminists to support gaining rights, even as republican motherhood is advocating for women to stay home and raise children. The idea is women are valuable because they instill/protect American values in their children and husbands. It seems that Willard and the women we read last week are making similar moves: motherhood is often used against women, but women counter that motherhood is the very reason they need education, literacy, suffrage--so they can become better mothers and protect, not just national, but religious values.