Down the M4 by Daniel Abse

Down the M4 by Daniel Abse

Down the M4 is a poem by Abse about going back to Wales. (the M4 is the main road to Wales from England)
                                     'This time afraid to hear my mother's news'
Within the first stanza, there is evidence that he is going back to Wales for negative news through the word 'afraid.' The poet is afraid of what he is going to be told once he gets there through his 'mother's news.' We also get the semantic field of death and ageing through this stanza. Abse describes how his aunts and uncles 'too, go into the hole, one by one' which connotes this idea of death because we imagine his family being buried. The theme of ageing is enforced in this stanza as his mother's 'beautiful face' is in it's 'ninth decade'
                          'Each visit she tells me the monotonous story of clocks'
                                         Within the second stanza, the poet shares a memory of his mother's story about clocks, reinforcing the theme of age.  'Each visit she tells me the monotonous story of clocks' is a  reflection of his mother's age and the fact that it is 'monotonous' suggests something boring. The clock also suggests that life is a precious gift which we don't always realise, it goes by too quickly.
The use of language in this stanza implies that the visits he used to have to see his 'beautiful' mother (first stanza) have become a chore, setting a rather depressing tone. Abse feels that his hair is 'turning grey' as he listens to her, this could also suggest that each day we get older which is a day closer to death, linking to a tone which Larkin would use.
                                       'You're no Jewess. They're from the Bible.'
Within the third stanza, a reference to religion is made. 'The village' is presented as a voice of discrimination, specifically if you're from 'Patagonia.' 'Tell the truth, fach, you're no Jewess' suggests that society didn't accept his mother or his family, he presents the prejudice they was faced with at the time. The poet also mentions his grandmother in this stanza, he calls her 'genuine' and she 'tells the truth.' The image portrayed of his grandmother is shown in a positive light. However, he compares her accent to stones, but stones last forever.
                                     'Under bridges that leap over me'
The last stanza links to the title of the poem as the poet 'drives down the M4' where he looks back on his life. The bridge that the poet drove under is personified, the bridges 'leap' but then 'shrink' which could suggest that we only move forward in life, we are unable to change the past but we can reflect. 
Abse describes an old 'Yiddish tune' that him and his mother sing, however the poet knows that it 'won't keep' and essentially will be forgotten. He his aware that his mother will go just like him, they will be forgotten about and lost, forming the idea of death.