This heart, my own dear mother, bends, With love’s true instinct, back to thee!

In these lines the speaker addresses his mother directly, describing filial affection as something instinctive—an inward “bending back” toward the maternal figure regardless of distance, time, or other attachments. The phrase “love’s true instinct” frames devotion to one’s mother as natural and reliable, not merely sentimental or socially expected. The couplet’s tenderness and formal lyricism are characteristic of Moore’s song-like verse: emotion is expressed through musical cadence and elevated diction (“thee”), aiming to universalize a private feeling. The emphasis falls on return and constancy: the heart may wander, but it is drawn home by an innate moral and emotional gravity.