My Mother at Sixty-Six (Kamala Das)

The poem focuses on the physical

The poem focuses on the physical signs of old age in the mother: her dozing face, open mouth, ashen colour, and later her pale, moon-like appearance.

The speaker’s concern for her mother

The speaker’s concern for her mother shows a deep emotional bond. Even though the parting words are calm, the inner feeling is one of fear and sadness

Images of young trees and merry

Images of young trees and merry children stand against the ageing mother. These lively images reflect movement, energy, and life, while the mother rep

The mother’s face is compared first

The mother’s face is compared first to a corpse and later to a late winter’s moon. These comparisons create strong visual images of weakness, paleness

The poem is written as one

The poem is written as one long sentence with commas. This creates the feeling of a continuous flow of thought, where one observation leads to another