My Mother at 66
My Mother at 66
My Mother at 66
What do the parting words of the narrator and her smile signify? The parting words ‘see you
soon Amma’ are used by the narrator to reassure the mother and to infuse optimism in the
narrator herself. She accepts the reality of her mother’s approaching death, yet keeps up the
facade of a smiling, happy face in order to put up a brave front. It requires a lot of effort and
hence the poet has used the poetic device of repetition to emphasize this. The poet’s parting
words of assurance and her smiles provide a stark contrast to the old familiar ache or fear of the
childhood. Her words and smiles are a deliberate attempt to hide her real feelings. The parting
words: “See you soon, Amma” give an assurance to the old lady whose ‘ashen face’ looks like a
corpse. Similarly, her continuous smiles are an attempt to overcome the ache and fear inside her
heart.