Question

What does the poet's mother look like? What kind of images has the poet used to signify her ageing decay?

Answer 1

Hint: "My Mother at Sixty-Six" is a poem about the poet's love affair with her mother at the age of sixty-six. The story is about the author's mother, who is becoming older and is afraid of being separated from her. It really encapsulates the tenderness of a mother-daughter bond.

Complete answer:
The poet was on her way to the Cochin airport from her parents' house last Friday morning. At the meal, her mother sat across from her. She was 66 years old at the time. The elderly lady was soundly asleep. Her mouth remained gaping. Her complexion was pale and her face was wrinkled. It was an ashy grey colour. It appeared to be lifeless as if it had been a corpse. When she saw her mother's lifeless and fading visage, her heart hurt. The old lady appeared to be lost in contemplation. The poet's gaze was drawn away from her mother and toward the window.

Thus, the poet's mother is a 66-year-old woman. She's seated next to the poet, her lips wide, sleeping. This is a symptom of advanced age. To combat respiratory difficulties, most elderly individuals keep their mouths open. Her face was pale and withered as if it were ash. Her ‘ashen' face resembles that of a corpse, therefore she is an image of death.

Note: Growing Older and the Fear of Loss and Separation is the subject of My Mother at Sixty-six. The poetess is devastated as she realises her mother's ageing and feels the agony of separation as she considers her mother's death. She yearns for her mother's youth and attractiveness, which she believes she has lost.