NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Poem 1 - My Mother at Sixty-six

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The poet feels deep emotional pain because she is very close to her mother, who is now old, frail, and looks very pale. The poet is worried that her mother might pass away while she is not around. This thought of losing her mother creates a heavy sadness in her heart.

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The young trees are described as sprinting because the poet is looking at them from a moving car. The trees appear to be running fast in the opposite direction. The poet uses this image to show the difference between youth (represented by the energetic trees) and old age (represented by her weak mother).

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The poet mentions happy children coming out of their homes to create a strong contrast with her mother's condition. The children are full of energy, joy, and life - they have their whole lives ahead of them. On the other hand, her mother is old and weak, moving closer to the end of her life. This comparison makes the poet's sadness about her mother's aging even more intense.

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The poet compares her mother to a late winter's moon because both look pale and have lost their brightness. Just like the moon in late winter appears dull and colorless due to fog and mist, her mother's face has become pale and lifeless due to old age.

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When the poet says goodbye to her mother, she smiles and promises to see her again soon. However, this smile hides her true feelings. Deep inside, she is scared that this might be the last time she sees her mother alive. The smile is her way of giving hope to both herself and her mother, even though she feels uncertain about their future meetings.

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When Kamala Das sees her mother looking old and weak, it reminds her of her childhood fear of losing her mother. To distract herself from these sad thoughts, she deliberately looks outside the car window and focuses on the things passing by. This helps her push away the disturbing thoughts about her mother's aging.

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As a child, Kamala Das was always afraid of losing her mother, which is a common fear among young children. When she sees her mother's pale and tired face at the airport, the same old fear returns. She worries that her mother might not be alive when she comes back. To hide these painful feelings, she puts on a smile and acts cheerful.

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Kamala Das's parting words "See you soon, Amma" show her hope and desire to meet her mother again. Her smile is meant to comfort and reassure her mother, making her feel loved and giving her hope. However, the smile also hides the poet's own pain and worry about her mother's health.

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The poet compares her mother to a late winter's moon because both appear dim and lack brightness. During late winter, the moon looks hazy and pale due to mist and fog. Similarly, the poet's mother looks pale and has lost the glow of youth due to old age. Her face appears colorless and dull.

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The young trees appear to be sprinting because the poet is sitting in a moving car. As the car speeds forward, the trees seem to run backward very fast. The word 'young' trees is important here because it represents life and energy, which is completely opposite to her mother's weak and aging condition.

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When the poet says "See you soon, Amma," she is expressing hope that they will meet again. This gives both her and her mother some comfort and confidence about the future, even though deep down, the poet is worried about her mother's declining health.

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The poet uses the image of happy children running out of their homes to highlight the difference between youth and old age. The children are full of life, energy, and excitement, while her mother is old, weak, and appears lifeless. This contrast makes the poet's sadness about her mother's condition even stronger.

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The poet feels heartbroken when she sees her mother's dull and colorless face. She is deeply hurt because her mother's face looks almost like that of a dead person. The thought that her mother might not be alive the next time she visits fills her with terrible sadness and fear.

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Elderly people often feel lonely and need companionship. They want their children to love them, care for them, and pay attention to their needs. They want to be included in family discussions and decisions. When we share our lives with them and value their advice, it makes them feel important and gives them a reason to live happily.

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The poem is about a daughter's love and concern for her aging mother. Although the mother is only sixty-six, she looks very pale and weak, almost like a dead body. The poet is traveling to catch a flight and is worried that her mother might not be alive when she returns. To distract herself, she looks at young trees and children outside, but these only remind her more of her mother's weak condition. At the airport, she takes a final look at her mother, smiles to hide her fears, and promises to see her again.

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The poet repeats the word "smile" three times to show that her smile is forced and fake. She is trying very hard to hide her tears and sadness. The repetition suggests that she had to keep smiling for a long time to convince her mother that everything was fine, even though she was breaking inside with worry.

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The poet's parting words and smile are very important because they show her love and concern for her mother. Even though she is scared that this might be their last meeting, she doesn't want to upset her mother. Instead, she smiles and gives her hope by promising to see her soon. This shows her maturity and selfless love.

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The poet's smile when saying goodbye to her mother is very meaningful and complex. On the surface, it appears to be a normal, loving smile between a daughter and mother. However, it carries much deeper emotions.

When the poet looks at her mother, she sees how pale and weak she has become due to old age. This makes her heart heavy with the fear that her mother might not live much longer. The smile is her way of hiding these painful thoughts and fears.

The situation is quite ironic - while she tells her mother that she will see her soon, deep inside she doubts whether she will ever see her alive again. The repetition of the word "smile" shows that it was a long and deliberate effort to appear cheerful.

Most importantly, this smile serves a dual purpose. It comforts both the mother and the daughter, giving them hope that the mother will live long enough for them to meet again. It's an act of love and sacrifice, where the poet puts her mother's peace of mind before her own emotional needs.

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The poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six" uses several poetic devices to create emotional impact and convey deeper meanings.

The entire poem is written as one long sentence, connected by commas. This shows that the poet's thoughts flow continuously without breaks, representing her stream of consciousness and emotional state.

The poet uses similes to make comparisons. She compares her mother's face to that of a corpse, showing how pale and lifeless her mother looks. Another simile compares her mother's face to a late winter's moon, emphasizing the loss of brightness and color.

Personification is used when trees are described as "sprinting." Trees cannot actually run, but this gives them human-like qualities and makes the description more vivid.

Alliteration appears in "familiar fear," where the 'f' sound is repeated. This creates a musical effect and emphasizes the poet's long-standing worry about losing her mother.

These devices work together to create a poem that touches the reader's emotions and makes the mother-daughter relationship feel real and relatable.

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The poem "My Mother at Sixty-Six" beautifully captures the universal human experience of watching our loved ones grow old and the fear of losing them. This is something that touches every person's heart because we all have people we care about deeply.

Aging is a natural part of life that we cannot stop or change, no matter how much it hurts us. The poet shows this reality through her mother, who is growing old and weak. Her mother needs rest (she sleeps during the journey), and her face has lost its youthful glow.

The poem reminds us that the fear of losing our parents is something that starts in childhood and continues throughout our lives. As children, we depend on our parents completely, so the thought of losing them is terrifying. As adults, we still carry this fear, especially when we see our parents aging.

However, the poem also shows us how to deal with this fear. The poet chooses to smile and give hope rather than express her sadness. This teaches us that while we cannot stop aging or death, we can choose to make our time with loved ones precious and meaningful. We should focus on love, care, and creating happy memories rather than being consumed by fear.

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The poem is called "My Mother at Sixty-Six" and it is written by Kamala Das.

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The poet was driving from her parents' house to Cochin airport on a Friday morning to catch a flight.

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The poet noticed that her mother was sleeping with her mouth open. Her mother's face had turned ashen gray, which means it looked very pale and colorless, almost like the face of a dead person.

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Her mother's face looked like a corpse because old age had taken away all the color and life from it. The natural glow and freshness of youth had disappeared, making her face appear pale, dull, and lifeless.

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The poet was worried because her mother looked very pale and lifeless, just like a dead body. This made her think that her mother might die soon, which was a very frightening thought.

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The poet felt pain because she suddenly realized how old and weak her mother had become. This made her afraid that she might lose her mother soon, and she might not see her alive again after this trip.

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She put that thought away because it was too painful and disturbing to think about. Also, she needed to focus on driving the car safely, and such sad thoughts would have distracted her from driving properly.

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The figure of speech used here is a simile. The poet compares her mother's ashen face to that of a corpse using the word "like."

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Trees cannot actually sprint or run. However, when the poet looks at them from a moving car, they appear to be running backward very fast in the opposite direction. This is just how things look when you are traveling in a vehicle.

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The poet looked at her mother again because she was about to say goodbye and leave for her flight. This was their moment of parting, so she wanted to see her mother one last time before leaving.

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She observed that her mother looked very weak, tired, and pale. Her mother's appearance reminded her of a late winter's moon, which looks dim and colorless in the sky.

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The figure of speech used here is a simile. The poet compares her mother's pale appearance to a late winter's moon using the word "as."

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The poet tried to drive away the disturbing thought that her mother had become very old and looked pale and lifeless like a dead body. This thought was too painful for her to bear.

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When she looked out of the car, she saw young trees that appeared to be running past the moving car. She also saw happy children rushing out of their homes to play. Both the trees and children represented life, energy, and youth.

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We know the joyful scene didn't help because later, at the airport, when she looked at her mother again, the same painful thoughts and fears came back to her mind. The distraction was only temporary.

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The phrase "trees sprinting" represents the passage of time moving very quickly. It also symbolizes youth, energy, and life, which is in sharp contrast to her mother's old age and weakness.

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'Her' refers to the poet's mother.

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The poet looked at her mother again because she was feeling insecure and worried about losing her. She wanted to see her mother once more before leaving, as she was uncertain about when they would meet again.

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The poet's childhood fear was the fear of losing her mother. As a child, she was always worried that something might happen to her mother and she would be left alone.

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The figure of speech used here is a simile. The poet compares her mother's pale appearance to a late winter's moon.

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The poet, Kamala Das, went for the security check at the airport before boarding her flight. 'Her' in these lines refers to the poet's mother.

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The poet compares her mother's face to a late winter's moon. She makes this comparison because both look pale and colorless. Just as the moon in late winter appears dim due to mist and fog, her mother's face has lost its natural glow due to old age.

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A 'late winter's moon' refers to the moon as it appears during the end of winter season. At this time, the moon looks pale, dim, and lacks brightness because of the mist, fog, and atmospheric conditions. The poet uses this image to describe how her mother's face has lost its shine and appears pale.

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The poet's childhood fear was the worry of losing her mother. When she was young, she was always afraid that something bad might happen to her mother. Now, seeing her mother's pale and weak appearance, the same old fear has returned to haunt her.

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The poet's parting words were "See you soon, Amma." These words express her hope and promise that they will meet again soon. She uses the loving term "Amma" to show her affection for her mother.

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The poetic device used in these lines is a simile. The poet compares her mother's wan, pale face to a late winter's moon.

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The poet compares her mother's face to a late winter's moon because both appear pale and have lost their brightness. During late winter, the moon looks dim and colorless, just like how her mother's skin has become pale and lost its healthy glow due to aging.