The Educator Online

My Mother at Sixty-six

Driving from my parent’s
home to Cochin last Friday
morning, I saw my mother,
beside me,
doze, open-mouthed, her face
ashen like that
of a corpse and realised with
pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at
young trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan,
pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that
old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and
smile……

What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?The poet feels a deep emotional pain and ache because she realizes that her mother is getting old and closer to death. This pain is made worse by her childhood fear of losing her mother.

Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?The young trees are described as ‘sprinting’ to show their energy and life, which contrasts with the stillness and aging of the poet’s mother.

Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?The image of merry children spilling out of their homes highlights the difference between the lively, energetic children and the poet’s frail, aging mother. It shows the cycle of life, from youth to old age.

Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?The mother is compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’ to emphasize her pale and weak appearance. The late winter moon suggests the end of a cycle, just as old age is the later part of life.

What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?The parting words “see you soon, Amma” and the repeated smiles show that the poet is trying to hide her deep sadness and fear of losing her mother. Her smile is meant to comfort both her mother and herself, despite the fear of separation.

Structural Observation

Notice that the whole poem is written in one long sentence, separated by commas. This structure shows a continuous flow of thoughts mixed with observations of the world around her, reflecting how the poet’s feelings and the outside world are connected.