Q4. ...The sea holiday
was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss
a. Who went for the sea holiday in the past?
b. What does 'both' refer to?
c. How does the poet feel when she remembers her mother?
d. Explain the meaning of the phrase 'the laboured ease of loss'
a. The poet's mother went for the sea holiday in the past.
b. 'Both' could refer to the poet and her mother. It could also refer to the past of the mother and that of the poet: the mother's past was the happy time spent with her cousins at the beach; the poet's past is the good time spent with her own mother's laughter and happiness.
c. The poet feels nostalgic as she remembers her mother: she misses her mother's presence.
d. 'The laboured ease of loss' refers to the fact that in time, even the heaviest of losses that human beings suffer from and mourn over cease to be overwhelming or overbearing.
b. 'Both' could refer to the poet and her mother. It could also refer to the past of the mother and that of the poet: the mother's past was the happy time spent with her cousins at the beach; the poet's past is the good time spent with her own mother's laughter and happiness.
c. The poet feels nostalgic as she remembers her mother: she misses her mother's presence.
d. 'The laboured ease of loss' refers to the fact that in time, even the heaviest of losses that human beings suffer from and mourn over cease to be overwhelming or overbearing.