Mother, any distance

• "Mother, any distance, greater than a single span requires a second pair of hands"
• "Anchor. Kite"
• "I reach towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky"
• "To fall or fly"
• "I space walk through the empty bedroom"
• "You at the zero end"
• Published in 1993 by Simon Armitage
• Armitage moved three doors down from his mother
• Simon Armitage was born in 1963 in Marsden, West Yorkshire
• The poem is about moving away from home and how it feels to be separated from your family
• "The acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors"
• "the line still feeding out, unreeling"
• "Where something has to give"
• Who is Simon Armitage?


  Simon Armitage is a famous poet.
• What type of language is Simon Armitage known for using in his poetry?

  He is known for using colloquial and informal language.
• What autobiographical material does Simon Armitage include in his poems?


  He includes autobiographical events from his life.
• What is an important topic in Simon Armitage's poetry?

  Family is an important topic in his poetry.
• What autobiographical event is referenced in the poem discussed?

  The event is when he moved six doors down from his parents' house.
• How did Simon Armitage's mother assist him after he moved?

  She followed him with a tape measure to help with soft furnishings.
• What feeling did Simon Armitage express about his relationship with his mother?

  He felt 'tethered' to her, symbolically via the cape.
• What are the main themes explored in Simon Armitage's poetry regarding family?

  • The difficulty parents have with letting go of their children
  • The strong bond between mother and son
  • The fear of children becoming independent
  • The desire for independence
  • The evolution of parent-child relationships
• Who is the poet of the poem "Mother any distance"?

  Simon Armitage
• When was Simon Armitage born?

  1963
• What position was Simon Armitage recently elected to?

  Oxford professor of poetry
• What is the title of the collection that "Mother any distance" is taken from?

  Book of Matches
• In what year was "Book of Matches" published?

  1993
• How long are the poems in the first section of "Book of Matches" meant to be read?

  About 20 seconds
• What is unique about the titles of the poems in the first section of "Book of Matches"?

  They are all untitled
• What does the poem "Mother any distance" explore on a metaphorical level?

  The changing nature of parent-child relationships
• How does the poem "Mother any distance" reflect independence?

  It shows a child becoming their own person
• What does the speaker use to measure in the poem?

  A tape measure
• What does the speaker call out while measuring?

  Numbers
• What does the speaker reach towards at the end of the poem?

  A hatch that opens on an endless sky
• How many lines does "Mother any distance" have?

  15 lines
• What form is "Mother any distance" loosely based on?

  The sonnet form
• What is the rhyme scheme of a Petrarchan sonnet?

  ABBA ABBA
• What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet?

  ABABCDCDEFEFGG
• What does the extra 15th line in "Mother any distance" signify?

  An additional thought for reflection
• What does the poem's lack of a fixed rhyme scheme suggest?

  The unpredictable nature of the relationship
• How does the structure of enjambment function in the poem?

  It creates a flowing, continuous thought