NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Poem 1 “My Mother at Sixty-six” provide precise, well-structured, and easy-to-understand answers to all textbook “Think it out” questions. This complete study guide explores the poem’s core themes of ageing, separation, and mortality, along with its key poetic devices and imagery. Be sure to read the My Mother at Sixty-six Summary first to grasp the background of the poem and answer these questions more effectively!
My Mother at Sixty-six Question Answers Class 12
Think it out (page 89)
Q.1. What is the kind of pain and ache that the poet feels?
Ans. The poet feels the pain of a daughter who realises that her mother is old and may die soon. When she sees her mother dozing with an ashen, corpse-like face, she feels a sharp pain. At the airport, she sees her mother pale and wan, and feels “that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear”. This is the fear of losing her mother, a fear she had felt even as a child, and it is deepened now by her mother’s frailty. The ache is also the pain of helplessness, because she cannot stop ageing and death.
Q.2. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?
Ans. The poet sees the trees from a fast-moving car, so they seem to be running past her in a quick race. The image also stands for youth, energy and life, in sharp contrast to her mother’s old age and weakness. The trees move forward quickly, full of life, while the mother is still, drowsy and fading.
Q.3. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Ans. The merry children stand for youth, joy, vitality and the continuity of life. The poet turns to this lively sight to distract herself from the painful thought of her mother’s old age and approaching death. It also sharpens the contrast between the beginning of life (cheerful children) and its end (the mother who looks like a corpse).
Q.4. Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
Ans. The late winter’s moon is pale, dim, colourless and cold, and it is about to fade from the sky. The mother’s face is similarly pale, lifeless and wan, and she has lost her brightness and energy. The comparison suggests that she is in the last phase of her life and is slowly fading away. It also suggests the loss of the warmth and glow that she once had.
Q.5. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Ans. The words “see you soon, Amma” are a reassurance. The poet tries to comfort her mother, and herself, that they will meet again and that there is time. Her repeated smile (“smile and smile and smile”) hides her real feelings of fear, sorrow and guilt. She does not want her mother to see her worry or to feel that she is a burden. The smile is a brave pretence, and it also shows the poet’s helplessness, because she cannot express her love and anxiety in words. It is also an attempt to hide her own fear of the separation, which may be final.
Poem Summary
The poem is a short, deeply felt account of the poet’s fear of losing her ageing mother. While driving from her parents’ home to Cochin airport on a Friday morning, the poet looks at her mother sitting beside her. The mother is dozing with her mouth open, and her face is ashen, like the face of a corpse. The poet realises with pain that her mother is as old as she looks. Unable to bear the thought, she quickly pushes it away and turns to look outside at the young trees which seem to sprint past, and at the merry children spilling out of their homes. These sights of youth and life contrast with her mother’s frailty.
After the security check at the airport, the poet stands a few yards away and looks at her mother again. Now she looks pale and colourless, like the late winter’s moon, which is about to fade. The poet feels the same old ache, her childhood fear of losing her mother. But she hides her feelings and says only, “See you soon, Amma”, and smiles again and again. The poem ends on this note of silent anguish.
Key points to remember:
- Theme: The pain of ageing and the fear of separation or death, and the child’s love and helplessness before them.
- Structure: The whole poem is a single sentence, punctuated by commas. It shows one continuous thread of thought, where the poet’s observations of the outside world are connected to the main idea of her mother’s ageing.
- Contrast: Old age (mother) is set against youth (trees, children). Her inner sorrow is set against her outward smile.
- Images: The “ashen face like a corpse” and the “late winter’s moon” show decay and the approach of death. The “sprinting trees” and “merry children” show life and energy.
- Tone: Sad, tender and restrained, with a feeling of guilt and helplessness.
- Poetic devices: Simile (“pale as a late winter’s moon”, “face ashen like that of a corpse”), personification and imagery (“young trees sprinting”), repetition (“smile and smile and smile”), contrast and enjambment.
- Message: We should notice and care for our elderly parents. They need love, time and attention more than anything else. As the poem’s “Before you read” question suggests, we should think about what our parents expect from us.
