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give me the summary of the lesson"my mother at sixty six"

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my mother at sixty six is a poem that brings out the poet's most terrible childhood fear, thatofseperation fromher mother.

when she is driving to the airport that day in the car she sees her mother dozing beside her open - mouthed, her face is very pale and ashen just like that of a corpse, and so the poetrealises that her mother would not live for very long.

she looks out of the window to distract herself when she notices the children coming out of their homes and she realises that, likeme they too, are leaving behind their parents and homes to achieve sumthingreater in life.

at the airport, after the security check, when the poet looks at her mother, she is reminded of themoon, late at night in winter's, which is pale and colourless, and which does not live for very long, disappearing as soon as dawn breaks. all these observations bring back her childhood fear of losing her mother so she feels "the familiar ache."at the end, when bidding goodbye to her mother, the poet says words of hope saying they would meet again soon although she herself knows that this may not b posible. she keeps a smile on her face to hide her sorrow, pain and fear.

Hope this is enough.

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This poem revolves around the theme of advancing age and the fear adhered to it of loss and separation. The poet is on the way to airport in Cochin, when she is stuck by the realization of the advancing age of her mother. It is very difficult for her to accept that her mother is creeping into the grips of old age. When she looks at her mother sitting by her side ,she notices her corpse like ashen face which reminds her of her approaching death. She is pale and worn out. The green trees racing past the speeding car are grim reminders of time which has passed. The joyous children playing outside give her some respite a she is lost in her thoughts of old age. The children represent old youth, energy and life. She is probably driven back to the days of her youth when the mother had been young. Now she was encircled in the fear of losing her, this made her feel insecure. She had this feeling whenever she looked at her mother as she had lost the blush of youth and middle age and now in her twilight years had become as pale as the winter moon. She is happy to see her mother is still breathing.But she is beset with sorrow and insecurity as she departs at the airport bidding goodbye to her mother and trying to hide her fears by smiling as she looked at her.

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