Summary
The speaker swings his shirt around his head while singing to himself. He then admires the various parts of his body. He ends by declaring himself the "happy genius" of his home.
Analysis
In the latter part of the poem, the speaker continues to describe this unusual morning ritual. He engages in a sort of lighthearted self-reflection as he dances in front of his mirror. This section appears to center on showing the speaker in a moment of elation, as he depicts himself in more specific detail. In his solitude, the speaker continues to study himself.
This section begins with the speaker adding additional action ("waving my shirt round my head / and singing softly to myself") to his depiction of his dance. The "waving" around of his shirt further supports the impression of him enjoying this momentary freedom. It also makes it even more clear that he is unclothed. The three lines that follow ("'I am lonely, lonely. / I was born to be lonely, / I am best so!'") is a fragment of the words he is singing to himself. While the lyrics themselves seem to be somewhat joking, they do underscore a central aspect of the work. In repeating the word "lonely," the speaker is accentuating his aloneness in the house. By going on to say he "was born to be lonely" and is "best so," he is demonstrating the happiness he finds in being in this state. However, the comic tone of this scene does make some of these declarations seem somewhat flippant. The happiness he feels is meaningful, but he does not take it with too much gravity. This aligns with both the figurative and the literal lightness he feels as he is alone and unclothed. The song spotlights the jubilation he is experiencing.
The poem then goes on to establish another conditional ("If I admire my arms, my face,") before delving into a catalog of his various body parts ("my shoulders, flanks, buttocks / against the yellow drawn shades,—"). The approach in the section is notable in the way that it divides up the different parts of the speaker's body. As he "admires" his body in the mirror, he adopts a tone that is neither disparaging nor bragging. He simply seems to gaze upon himself in a kind of wonder. This emotion is consistent with the poem itself, as it never lapses into overt drama or gravity. The speaker enjoys this moment but does not overanalyze it. He appreciates his body for exactly what it is. The speaker's solitary moment gives him the opportunity to arrive at this appreciation. Finally, the speaker ends the poem with a sort of declaration: "Who shall say I am not / the happy genius of my household?" The speaker calls himself the "happy genius" of his household, showing that he believes he has attained some sort of enlightenment in this strange morning ritual. This last line also carries a particular lightness, as he is not overtly stating what he is, but is instead challenging someone to say what he is not. He has attached this signifier to himself, but, as with many of the details he offers in the poem, does not place an overdetermined meaning behind it.
In its entirety, the poem shows the speaker enjoying a quiet morning to himself. He engages in a dance in the nude, singing as he observes himself in the mirror. Thematically, the poem seems to concern itself with the sort of view the speaker takes of himself: slightly bemused, happy but not overly dramatic. Untethered to his domestic roles (and his clothing) the speaker finds a brief moment of oneness with himself, as he dances with abandon.
