Lines 1-3

In the opening lines of "Originally," the personas are introduced through references like "our mother" and "our father's." The initial word, "We," indicates a family presence. These lines also set the scene and hint at an emotional connection to a location: "our own country." However, this setting is not fixed; the "red room," likely referring to the vehicle the family is traveling in, seems to speed along, "falling through the fields" as they blur past. The phrase "turn of the wheels" further confirms that the speaker and her family are in a car, but the preceding words misleadingly suggest a cheerful tone: "… our mother singing / our father's name to the turn of the wheels" creates the image of a joyful family journey. Yet, the rest of the poem paints a different picture.

Lines 4-6

Lines 4 through 6 convey anything but a joyful trip. The speaker's brothers are upset, crying, with "one of them bawling Home, / Home." This child's cries reveal the root of the children's distress: they yearn to return home, but home is no longer there. It has become merely a place with "vacant rooms" in the city they've left behind.

Lines 7 and 8

The final two lines of stanza 1, lines 7 and 8, make it clear that the family has permanently relocated from their former home. The speaker's mind lingers in her old house as she holds a toy, "holding its paw," perhaps as she wishes her own hand were held for comfort during this upheaval. Just as she comforts the toy, it provides her with some security and solace while she longs for the place "where we didn't live any more."

Lines 9-11

Lines 9 through 11, the start of stanza 2, offer a more detached perspective on the impact of uprooting children. The beginning of line 9 is pivotal: "All childhood is an emigration." This suggests that growing up inherently involves a series of departures from one moment, one age, and one stage of maturity to the next. It seems natural for children to transition through various phases on their journey to adulthood, but the word "emigration" chosen by Duffy implies a physical journey, a transition from one place to another. The speaker describes scenarios of how emigration might unfold. "Some are slow," allowing the child to reflect on the situation, perhaps feeling "resigned" to having wandered into a place "where no one you know stays." Line 11 concludes with a type of emigration more relevant to the poet's personal experience: "Others are sudden."

Lines 12-14

Lines 12 through 14 delve into the types of "sudden" transformations that can significantly impact a child who experiences them. Even if one shares a native tongue with the residents of another state or country, there remains the issue of "wrong" accents and the yearning for familiar places that have become "unimagined, pebble-dashed estates." This description suggests that even architectural differences between the old home and the new one can be unsettling for a cautious child. The speaker further illustrates this with her surprise at seeing "big boys / eating worms and shouting words" she cannot comprehend.

Line 15 and 16

Lines 15 and 16 reveal the speaker's deepest reflections on the family's relocation to a new country. She perceives her "parents' anxiety," which she finds both bothersome and troubling. In a moment of candid honesty, the speaker declares her sole wish: "I want our own country."

Line 17

Line 17, opening stanza 3, marks a sudden shift in both the poem's message and tone. The initial word, "But," signifies a...