My Mother at Sixty Six- by Kamala Das

The poet through her poem

'My Mother at Sixty-Six'

KAMALA DAS, the poetess of the poem 'My Mother at Sixty-Six' is an Indian poet form Kerala. She wrote under the pen name of 'Madhavikutty' and she writes in English. Her works are known for their originality, versatility and the indigenous flavour of the soil. She is a sensitive writer who captures the complex subtleties of human relationships in lyrical idiom."My Mother at Sixty -Six is the best expression of the poet in which she confesses a truth which has the universal appeal. 

A quote from her poem:

'but all said was, see you soon,

Amma,all I did was smile and smile and smile....'(My Mother at Sixty-Six) 

The most impressive quotes from her poem,"My Mother at Sixty-Six" which reveals her most appealing thoughts. Such as, her deep agonies at seeing her mother's old  appearance , her doubts and fear wheather she could see her mother again in her next visit or her fear of seperation from her mother . The poetess assures her old mother that she would come to her soon and she smiled continuously. Her smile is like a cover only to hide her real emotion at the time of her departure. The poetess tries to cover up her painful emotions by smiling. So the repetition of the word 'smile' is worked as a confession  that she is unable to support her aged mother, as she can't stay with her to take care of her,even if she wishes not to do so. The poet had her own responsibilities and she had to go to her own destination to take care of her own responsibilities. 

THEME OF THE POEM:---

In this poem the poet deals with a theme which has an universal appeal. Aging, decay and death is an inevitable truth in human life. The old mother of the poet is  approaching towards her end of life-death. Death would bring a physical seperation in human relationship. That is the most painful fact for the loving daughter- the poet, that she would be seperated from her mother physically. Her mother is becoming too old and die soon. That is a general feeling of all the human beings. The poet suffers from her very childhood about that fact that her mother would become old and die. 

Another aspect of the theme is that the poet's helplessness in giving support and care to her mother in such an old age.The poet is suffering from a great mental disturbance that as a daughter she has the duty to take care of her mother at her old age. But she is unable to stay with her mother to support her old age. Because the poet has her own world of responsibilities. She had to go and to take care of her own world. Her helplessness is the helplessness of  all the sons and daughters to their parents.The poetess deals with this theme very sensitively in her poem by  describing her return journey from her mother's home to her own place of work. 

SUMMARY OF THE POEM:---

After staying a few days in her parental home the poet is returning to her own destination place. She is driving in a car to the cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her to see off her daughter. For a moment the poet looked at her and saw her mother was sitting beside her in a half sleepy state, dozed and open mouthed and quite passively. The poet saw  that her mother was becoming too old and her face looked 'ashen' like that of a 'corpse'. Out of deep pain inside her heart the poet  suddenly looked outside through her car's window. The poet wanted to divert her mind.she saw some children's are playing merrily outside their home. The poet saw a jolly, active and young world outside. But inside the car she realises a passive world. Her mother was sitting quite passively. Which is a contrast to the outside world. 

The poet saw the young trees are  sprinting along with the car.It indicates the speed of the car as well as the passing or diminishing the youthful vigour and beauty of her mother. The poet again looked at her mother. She looked 'wan' and 'pale'. The poet resembles her face to a late winters moon which looks obscure and hazy under the vail of fog.Her mother looked pale and grey like that of late winters moon. The poet's mother is fragile and weak due to her old age. She has lost her all vigour and energy like that of late winters moon which has lost it's brightness and shine due to the dark vail of fog in the late winter's night. 

The poet after completing all her security check-ups entered into the Cochin airport . After walking a few yards away she looked back again at her. She saw her pale, wan face. Her childhood fear of loosing her mother again woke up in her and her suffering started  giving pain and weakend her mind internally. 

But it is the time to leave her mother alone. So the poet had to control her emotion.With a smile in her face the poetess tried  to assure her mother that she would soon come to her.   But in reality the poet is hiding her real emotion of deep pain and fear that she is leaving her mother alone at her old age.And may be she wouldn't meet her physically. The feeling of doubt and fear tormented the poet. But she had the courage to hide her real emotion and with a smiling face she bade her farewell and with a promise to come to her soon. The poet is unknown about the trap of time though she encourages her mother with strong assurance that she would comeback soon. 

POETIC DEVICES USED IN THE POEM:--

The poetic devices used in this poem are assonance,metaphors,simile, personifications,imagery and repetitions. 

Assonance:--

Assonance is a rhetorical device which is the repeating use of vowel sounds in the figure of speeches  or in certain words close to each other.It is used both in prose and poetry create an auditory impact which is the reflect of the intensity of the mood of the reader. The repetition of long sound of the vowels decreases the intensity of mood and the repetition of short vowel sound increases the intensity of mood.It could be understood when the part of the poem or prose is to be read aloud. 

Example:

''Rise high in the bright sky.

The repetition vowel sound within the group of words is 'i'.

 In this poem certain Vowels are used to create assonance , they are (doze, open -mouthed, ashen,) -'o', 'a', 'e'

Simile:---

Similes makes the comparison by saying that one thing is 'like', or 'is as..... as'the other thing. Similes compares two things directly. 

Simile is a figure of speech which is a comparison between two  things.

In this poem the face of the poet's mother is compared with 'ash', or 'corpse'. 'Ash' and 'corpse' are both grey in it's colour.The word 'ashen'is a simile, which is used to compare the colour of her mother's face  which looks grey in colour due to her old age. 

Metaphore:---

It is a literary device that makes comparison  of two things by saying something is something else. 

Examples: --------

she is a night owl. (She wakes for longer at night.) 

The world is your oyster. 

In this poem'young trees sprinting' ,'merry children spilling'. 

Here sprinting activity is compared with spilling. 

Imagery:---

The poet employs the device of imagery to enhance the poetic effect. 

'looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes'

The presents two contrasting world through the imagery of spilling of merry children and sprinting of trees. Spilling of merry children presents an active, jolly world, whereas the sprinting of trees presents a passive world where Spirinting represents an image of fast reeling of time which has taken away the youthful vigour of her mother and now fast forwarding towards the end of life. 

Alliteration:---

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant letter  in words. 

Example from the poem--- 'my mother','that thought', 'I said was, see you soon---' 

Repetition:---

Repetition is the uses of the repeating use of the same word to add value and to emphasize to the writing.

Example from the poem:--

'all I did was smile and smile and smile.... '

The continuous smile of the poet has some purpose:

1. To cover up the poet's helplessness to support her old mother

To hide the poet's real emotion  of doubt and fear she consoled her mother smilingly.
 The poet's effort to hide her real emotion which is the fear of loosing her mother. Her smile is to cover up her real emotion and tried to console her own self. 

Major questions and answers:

1.where is the poet going and who is with her? 

Ans:The poet is going to the Cochin airport and her was sitting beside her. 

2.why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children spilling out of their homes? 

Ans: The poet has brought the image of the merry children spilling out of their homes to present us a contrasting world in comparison to her passive world which is her old  mother, who was sitting  quite passively beside her in the car. Another thing is that the poet wanted to divert her mind from her painful thought of loosing her mother as she is becoming too old. 

3.what kind of pain and ache that the poet feels? 

Ans: The pain and ache that the poet feels is a kind of general one. By seeing her old mother the poet is aware of her approaching death. The poet felt a deep pain by the thought of loosing her mother as she would die soon and be seperated from her physically. It is the general feeling of pian and ache have felt by all the human being in the world. 

4.why has the mother been compared to the 'late winter's moon'? 

Ans:The poet compares her mother's face with late winter's moon because like the late winter's moon which looked hazy and obscure her mother's face was also looked pale and lifeless due to her old age.The covering of heavy fog in winter makes the moon hazy and obscure and like that her mother has also lost her youthful vigour and beauty due to her old age. 

5.what do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify? 

Ans:The parting words of the poet 'see you soon amma' is the poet's assurance to her weak and fragile mother that she would come to her soon. The poet has been affected by a deep pain at leaving her mother alone and unsupported at her old age and she is suffering from a doubt and a fear wheather she would see her mother alive at her next visit.

 With a continuous smile on her face the poet tried to hide her real feeling of  pain and doubt . Her 'smile' 'signifies her effort to hide her real emotion and helplessness in leaving her mother alone and unsupported. So her smiling appearance is not a real one. The poet is unhappy at that moment and tried to console her and hide her real emotion with her continuous smile.

6.Describe the the face of the poet's mother. Why is it compared to a corpse? 

Ans:The poet's mother was sitting beside her while driving to the Cochin Airport. She went with the poet to see off her daughter to her work place. The poet saw her dozed and open-mouthed  because of her sleepy state. Her mother's face looked pale, grey like ash which the poet compares with that of a dead body. Because she was sitting passively like a dead body. 

7.what does the poet see happening outside while she was driving.?

Ans:The poet looked outside  through her car's window and saw a very active world. The merry children were playing outside their homes.The trees were sprinting fast backward along with the car's speed. The poet saw  her weak and fragile mother, sitting passively inside her car and felt a deep pain. The poet wanted to divert her mind by looking outside through her car's window. 

8.what does the poet do after the security check? What does she notice? 

Ans:The poet, after the security check  at the Cochin airport walked a yard away but suddenly she looked  back at her mother and saw her pale, wan face again. . She noticed her mother looked very weak and depressed.With a smile in her face she bade her farewell with an assurance that she would come back soon.