Question

What was the poet’s childhood fear?

Answer 1

Hint: "My Mother at Sixty-Six" is a poem about the poet's loving relationship with her mother at the age of sixty-six. The protagonist of the narrative is the author's mother, who is becoming older and concerned about losing contact with her daughter. It portrays the tenderness of a mother-daughter bond to perfection.

Complete answer:
Every human's life is inevitably marked by the passage of time. When a person starts their childhood, they go through adolescence, which is a time when they are active and have a lot of dreams. At some point, everyone reaches old age and passes away. People's relationships get considerably stronger as they progress through life. No one can tolerate being apart from their loved ones simply because they are becoming older.

The poet was travelling to the Cochin airport from her parents' house last Friday morning. During supper, her mother sat across from her. At the time, she was 66 years old. The elderly lady was sound asleep. Her mouth remained gaping. Her complexion was pale and her face was wrinkled. It was an ashy grey colour. It seemed dead, almost as if it were a corpse. Her heart broke as she saw her mother's dead and fading face. The elderly lady looked to be deep in thought. The poet's attention was drawn away from her mother and toward the window.

Therefore death and decay are the poet's childhood fears. She is worried about her mother's deteriorating health and advanced age.

Note: My Mother at Sixty-six is about growing older and the fear of loss and separation. The poetess is saddened as she sees her mother's condition deteriorate and feels the anguish of separation as she considers her mother's death. She wishes she might reclaim her mother's youth and beauty, which she believes she has lost.