Summary of My Mother at Sixty-six

Summary of My Mother at Sixty-six - Kamala Das

MY MOTHER AT SIXTY-SIX

– Kamala Das

This poem expresses the anguish of a daughter over the fast-approaching end of her mother’s life. While driving for airport from her parent’s home, the poetess notices her mother’s pallid face that resembles a corpse. She is gravely pained to realise that her mother, who is sleeping beside her in the car, has grown old and is nearing her death. The natural radiance of her body has desiccated. Troubled with the thought, she tries to console herself with the view outside the car that is full of youthful vim and vigor. She watches the trees ‘sprinting’ past their speeding car and the children, full of life and activity, running out of their houses to play.
At the airport, after the security check, she again glances thoughtfully at her mother. Her ashy and colourless face, reminds her of a “late winter’s moon,” white and devoid of any warmth. Winter is also synonymous with the end of life. She feels the same pain that she used to feel as a child when scared of losing her mother or her company. Although she feels it could be the last time she is seeing her mother, she fails to express her fear or love in words to her. She only manages to smile helplessly and say “see you soon, Amma”.

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