Summary of Kamala Das My Mother at Sixty Six Poem

The poem is written in a simple manner that delves into the themes of death, aging and human relationships. The poet observes his old mother who is supposedly to be sixty six years old. The inevitable death is examined in the poem and there is a conflicting emotional arousal between acceptance and rejection. The poet however accepts the aging and the inevitable death and the poet swipes away initially or refusing to accept since death is a mental discourse for her since childhood days.

The poem begins with the poet observation on the physical presence of her mother while she is heading towards Cochin from here parents house. She sees her mother sitting beside her slightly asleep with her mouth open. She goes on to describe the physical appearance of her mother whose face has turned very pale in similitude to the dead body. The poet realises that she is as old as she looks highlighting her bodily aging and the coming of inevitable death.

The poet also seems to have a conflicting emotions after she sees her physical appearance. She then dismisses her thoughts on death and decay of her mother’s face and she gazes towards the young trees sprinting and the youthful activity of the children smiling and enjoying out of their homes. This sudden shift towards the youthful dynamism and beauty adds the fear and inner conflict of the speaker herself and her refusal to accept death.

Furthermore, the speaker looks at her mother again who is standing a few yards away from her after the security check. She sees that her face has turned pale and wan which the speaker compares it to “late winter’s moon”. The winter season is often associated with death and the speaker is comparing the approaching death of her mother. Here, one sees that the speaker accepts that death is inevitable and it is evident in the physical appearance and condition of the body.

The speaker suddenly realised an epiphany of her childhood fears. It is similar and a familiar old ache and a painful feeling to the speaker because the speaker refuses to accept death and she fears death during her childhood days which is quite a universal experience. The speaker then goes on to say that she will see her soon later and all she ever did is smile to evoke a sense of happy feeling despite suffering from an internal conflict.