Word Post "My Papa's Waltz"

1. "We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance 
Could not unfrown itself."
(735)

2. My guess: To be honest I have no good guess as to what "countenance" means in this passage. I initially thought it had something to do with the "count" of the dance that they were doing. Even though I enjoy poetry, I find that I often have trouble understanding individual phrases even if I understand the entire poem; this seems to be one of those instances.

3. Definition: : face, visage; especially : the face as an indication of mood, emotion, or character
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countenance)

4. This makes perfect sense now! I actually feel oblivious for not recognizing it at first. "Countenance" means facial expression,  the author is referring to the mother's facial expression. I am not used to poetry being so direct and literal; this phrase is very literal because the very next words are "could not unfrown itself". It is directly saying that the mother had a frown on her face that would not go away. Lesson learned: sometimes the meaning of phrases in poetry is exactly what the phrase says!