In this poem, the patient wisdom of the speaker's grandfather is contrasted to the rash foolishness of the speaker's foster father, Gandhiji, who shaves his ward's head when she becomes too interested in fashion. Gandhiji feels the ward spends too much time looking in mirrors. However, when the girl cries and cries over her shaved head, Gandhiji realizes he has made a mistake.

By using the recurrent images of the grandfather's face and eyes, the poem's speaker conveys the wisdom of the grandfather. The eyes are likened to patient trees that can withstand drought and to "sharp mountain-top light," suggesting that the grandfather is close to the heavens and filled with spiritual wisdom. The grandfather also has the eyes of the "true hermaphrodite." A hermaphrodite has both male and female characteristics. In this case, the grandfather, unlike Gandhiji, can understand what it feels like to be a young girl wanting to look pretty.

At the end of the poem, the grandfather looks at Gandhiji with the "same face" he shows the speaker: one of wisdom and patience, imbued with the ability to see life from another person's perspective. As he lacks these attributes, Gandhiji has made both himself and his ward unhappy. The message of the poem is that we should all cultivate the grandfather's wisdom rather than acting rashly.