Question

What does the poet realise with pain? Why does the poet put that thought away and look outside?

Answer 1

Hint: “The poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six" is about the poet's loving relationship with her mother at the age of sixty-six. The account depicts the author's mother's growing age and her anxiety about being separated. It perfectly shows the beauty of a mother-daughter bond.

Complete answer:
The poet was travelling from her parents' house to the Cochin airport last Friday morning. Her mother sat at the table next to her. She was 66 years old at the time. The elderly lady had fallen asleep soundly. Her mouth remained gaping. Her skin was wrinkled and pallid. It was an ashy grey colour. It appeared to be lifeless as if it were a corpse. When she saw her mother's lifeless and faded face, her heart hurt. The old lady appeared to be very absorbed in her thoughts. The poet's gaze wandered away from her mother and toward the window.

The poet's mother's lifeless and faded face hurts her heart. She has the appearance of a corpse. She evokes a sense of apathy, decay, and death. The elderly lady seemed to be lost in meditation. The poet requires a change of pace. She dismisses that notion and turns her gaze to the outside. She receives a sense of life, enjoyment, and movement there.

Note: Growing older, and the anxiety of loss and separation that comes with it, is the subject of My Mother at Sixty-six. The poetess is filled with anguish as she realises her mother's ageing and feels the pangs of separation at the idea of losing her. She also wishes for her mother's youth and attractiveness, which she believes she has lost.