My Mother at Sixty Six

Analysis of the poem

My Mother at Sixty-Six is a poignant (sad and touching) poem by Kamala Das which deals with
the themes of ageing, a person‘s love for her mother, separation, uncertainty and death . A
sensory and deeply sensitive poem, My Mother at Sixty-Six, is a first person confessional poem
that captures the reader‘s attention and provides a glimpse of the subtle intricacies of a
motherdaughter relationship. The poem captures the speaker‘s train of thought and the entire
poem is written in a single sentence. The poem makes use of a natural unaffected rhythm,
striking imagery and a sense of movement to convey the insecurities and apprehensions of the
poet about her rapidly ageing mother and the inevitable separation that must follow.This
helplessness is poignantly brought out in the poem. The Emotions experienced by the poet are
essentially universal in nature. The fear of losing a loved one is a theme that the reader can
identify with.
Points to remember:
ϖ The sprinting of the trees symbolises the fast-passing years of human life from childhood to
old age. This image, which shows movement and power, is in contrast to that of her old and frail
mother ϖ Children spilling out represent liveliness, vigour, fitness, beauty, exuberance and joy.
This image contrasts dramatically with that of her mother, who is nearing her death and has
grown frail, withdrawn, poor, and withered. ϖ The poet draws a resemblance to 'the late winter
moon' to suggest her mother‘s imminent death. Winter, being the last season of the year, is
synonymous with dormancy and lifelessness. With old age, the mother of the poet has started to
lose all her strength and radiance ϖ The parting words of the poet, "see you soon, Amma,"
signify her farewell to her mother and an attempt to leave her optimistically and cheerfully. ϖ
The face of poet's mother was pale, ashen -weak, painful, extremely aged. Her mother was too
much fragile due to age -factor. Being too old, her signs of agedness could be seen over her
wrinkled face. ϖ Poetess compared her mother's face with a corpse (dead body) as no sign of
action can be seen on the face of a corpse. Similarly poet's mother‘s face was pale, still and
weak.
Long Answer Question

What do the parting words of the narrator and her smile signify? The parting words ‘see you
soon Amma’ are used by the narrator to reassure the mother and to infuse optimism in the
narrator herself. She accepts the reality of her mother’s approaching death, yet keeps up the
facade of a smiling, happy face in order to put up a brave front. It requires a lot of effort and
hence the poet has used the poetic device of repetition to emphasize this. The poet’s parting
words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast to the old familiar ache or fear of the
childhood. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting
words: “See you soon, Amma” give an assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a
corpse. Similarly, her continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her
heart.