Question

What did she do then?

Answer 1

Hint: The question is from the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ by writer Kamala Surayya, also known by her married name Kamala Das and her former pen name Madhavikutty, was a Kerala-based Indian poet and Malayalam author.

Complete answer:
The poet has a strong bond with her mother, who is elderly, frail, and pale. She's worried that the old mother will pass away when she's gone. The spirited running of the young trees contrasts sharply with the aged and pale-looking mother. The poetess was on her way back to Cochin to catch a flight the previous Friday morning. In the car, her mother sat next to her. The elderly lady began to feel sleepy. Her mouth was agape. Her face was pale and ash-coloured as if she were a corpse. The poetess became frightened. Her mother, she assumed, was no longer alive. She was in excruciating pain.

Her doubt, however, was quickly dispelled. Mother was still alive. She shifted her gaze to the window. The young trees seemed to be sprinting backwards. She also saw happy children emerging from their homes. They stood in stark contrast to her own sedentary elderly mother.

They arrived at the airport and completed the formal security screening. The poetess returned her gaze to her mother from a distance of a few yards. Like the moon on a late winter night, the mother was frail and pale. The narrator's old fear that the mother will grow old and die was reawakened by seeing her. Her situation didn't seem to be getting any better. However, before bidding her farewell, the poetess simply smiled and expressed her wish to see her mother again.

Therefore the poet withdrew her thoughts from her mother and looked outside.

Note: The poem My Mother At Sixty Six's description describes the dilemma of a child witnessing her mother's ageing. The poet's heart was broken by the mother's dead and pale face. My Mother is the title of a poem written by Robert Frost. The poet's mother seemed to be lost in her own world at the age of 66.