McKay frequently addresses an ambiguous object by using gender-neutral pronouns. In Lindsay Tuggle's article “’A love so fugitive and so complete’: Recovering the Queer Subtext of Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows” suggests that McKay’s use of gender-neutral pronouns allows him to address love poems to either a man or a woman in a time when queer identity was not always celebrated or public. Other examples of McKay writing to an ambiguous “you” in order to conceal the gender of the lover or subject of his poem include "To O.E.A."

A cottage is a term used for a small, sometimes temporary, house. McKay could be referencing an 1849 short story by Edgar Allen Poe, titled "Landor's Cottage," that describes a cottage with jasmine growing around it. Poe's cottage in the Bronx was made a museum in 1913, around the time McKay was living in Harlem.

Commonly, “oh” (Or “Oh!” in the original publication) is an exclamatory. It could also be seen as an apostrophe, a figure of speech when the speaker suddenly stops and addresses an object or an absent person or place, in this case either the flower or a person. Classical and Romantic poets, Baudelaire and other popular writers of the Harlem Renaissance, such as Langston Hughes and James Weldon Johnson, with whom McKay was familiar, make frequent use of the apostrophe.

Fond can mean 1) infatuated, foolish, silly; 2) of things: valued only by fools, trifling, trivial; or 3) have strong affection or liking for.

McKay is most likely referencing a place like New York here, for while jasmine is very common in Jamaica, deciduous trees are not. In the winter, New York can often be very cold; trees shed their leaves, and flowers do not grow. McKay writes a number of poems about winter or snow such as “To One Coming North”, “To Winter”, and “The Snow Fairy.”

Night jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) is a species of jasmine with fragrant, yellowish-white flowers that bloom at night, and is native to the West Indies. This plant is often referred to as a lady of the night, which is also a euphemistic term for a prostitute. McKay references prostitution often, and in a positive light, for example in the poem "The Harlem Dancer,” also in Harlem Shadows, and in his 1928 novel Home to Harlem.

Jasmine is a climbing plant that, if not pruned correctly, can overtake and overgrow where it has been planted. McKay might be referencing the overwhelming nature of the jasmine’s scent, or of the plant itself.

In “Flower of Love,” also in Harlem Shadows, McKay refers to a scent overcoming him. His other poems often use olfactory imagery. McKay references flowers in a number of different poems. He uses flowers as terms of passion, love, or romance, and he usually associates them with the color red or very strong scents.

The word "weird," in addition to meaning a strange and unusual appearance, can also mean "having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings, etc.; later, claiming the supernatural power of dealing with fate or destiny." This definition originated from Shakespeare's MacBeth with the three Fates, or "Weird Sisters."

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, cold, when referring to soil, can mean slow to absorb heat. The night jasmine, even though it blooms at night, still needs a constant source of heat and light from the sun during the day. If the soil is "cold," it will not correctly absorb the heat from the sun, and the night jasmines will not bloom.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, vestige is a mark of something that is gone.

Jasmine (Jasminum) is a type of climbing, flowering shrub with fragrant white flowers native to Southeastern Europe and often found in South Africa and the West Indies. There are many variations and types of jasmine, with most having a strong, particular scent. Jasmine is often associated with love, beauty, sensuality, and purity.