The Mower is a poem by British poet Philip Larkin, written on 12 June 1979.
Author Maeve Brennan recalled an earlier incident in which Larkin had deliberately killed a hedgehog with his car, and his guilt about it.
[2] Author Sisir Kumar Chatterjee writes that the poem embodies Larkin's themes of "mutual care, sympathy, and kindness.
"[3] Janice Rossen notes this is a recurring theme in his work, citing the similar suffering of a dying rabbit in "Myxomatosis," published in The Less Deceived.
[4] The archive of Philip Larkin's work at University of Hull includes the blue 'Victa' rotary lawn mower involved in the incident that inspired the poem.