Whats the tone of this poem?

Question

Cuttings (Theodore Roethke)
Sticks-in-a-drowse droop over sugary loam,
Their intricate stem-fur dries;
But still the delicate slips keep coaxing up water;
The small cells bulge;

One nub of growth
Nudges a sand-crumb loose,
Pokes through a musty sheath
Its pale tendrilous horn.

This urge, wrestle, resurrection of dry sticks,
Cut stems struggling to put down feet,
What saint strained so much,
Rose on such lopped limbs to a new life?

I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing,
In my veins, in my bones I feel it, -
The small waters seeping upward,
The tight grains parting at last.
When sprouts break out,
Slippery as fish,
I quail, lean to beginnings, sheath-wet.

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kk..i said the tone was serious..but my teacher said its too vague....anyone got a better one?...im in gr 12 btw...

Answer 1

It's about resurrection and the will to live. These are dry sticks stuck in earth; they have to search for water and set roots to begin new growth from a plant which has been severely cut back.
Survival IS serious!
I'd say the "tone" is initially pretty dark....but hopeful (the sprouts DO break out, after all!).

Answer 2

Im gonna call it way too British tone. Crikey.