Lambs that learn to walk in snow harsh winter, born early
When their bleating clouds the air
Meet a vast unwelcome, know winter isn't welcome, spring is needed
Nothing but a sunless glare
Newly stumbling to and fro
All they find, outside the fold
Is a wretched width of cold
As they wait beside the ewe
Her fleeces wetly caked, there lies
Hidden round them, waiting too
Earth's immeasurable surprise spring offers hope and surprise.
They could not grasp it if they knew
What so soon will wake and grow spring gives a sense of hope
Utterly unlike the snow.
This is a generally optimistic poem by Larkin, it describes nature which often offers a sense of hope. The idea that the lambs were born in the snow suggest a harsh winter that's latest longer than expected as lambs are normally born in spring. Due to the winter the lambs are suffering from the coldness and lack of food. The fact the lambs are waiting for "earth's immeasurable surprise' suggests to them that spring is a great surprise that they wont know and that it brings them hope.
The rhythm of the poem is ( A,B,A,B,C,D,D) this may suggest a cycle at the start which then dies down towards the end representing the seasons. The idea of a cycle of nature and that out of bad comes goodness with surprise or hope.
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