Stanza One

Lee uses the title as the setting of the poem, the first stanza of "Early in the Morning" describing what happens at that time of day. He is very precise in locating the time when his mother combs her hair. It is "while the 'long grain' is softening" but "before / the salted Winter Vegetable is sliced." The "long grain" is most likely rice, a breakfast staple for many Asian cultures. It softens when cooked. The winter vegetable could possibly be a cucumber or a pickled whole radish with garlic. These are often heavily salted and served in a kind of gruel called congee. This is very early morning, as it is also "before the birds" appear. The precision with which Lee details when his mother combs her hair suggests an organized and efficiently run household, one in which such simple rituals carry meaning beyond their appearance...