Keeping Orchids

• What is the poem "Keeping Orchids" about?

  Her meeting with her birth mother
• What are the main themes of the poem "Keeping Orchids"?

  • Family relationships
  • Secrets
• What poetic structure is used in "Keeping Orchids"?

  Couplets
• What is a transferred epithet?

  Adjective transferred from one noun to another
• Give an example of a transferred epithet from the study material.

  "Sleepless nights"
• What is synecdoche?

  A part used to represent a whole
• Provide an example of synecdoche from the study material.

  "Wheels" for a car
• What does enjambment refer to in poetry?

  Lines that run over without a pause
• What does the orchid symbolize in the poem?

  Difficulty of keeping relationships alive
• How does the first line of the poem connect to the mother-daughter relationship?

  It links the relationship with the orchids
• What does the phrase "some of the buds remain closed as secrets" imply?

  Relationship is not flourishing, like the buds
• What does the use of caesura indicate in the poem?

  It shows a shift in direction of thought
• How does Kay's description of the vase convey emotion?

  It represents fragility and sudden events
• What does the list of "broken wales" symbolize?

  Intrusion into her life and past
• What does the simile "shut like an eye in the dark" suggest?

  Confusion and lack of understanding
• What does the phrase "voice is fading fast" imply about the mother-daughter relationship?

  Connection is weakening over time
• What does the metaphor of the mother's voice rushing through a tunnel signify?

  Distance and loss of connection
• What does the list of memories in the poem reveal about Kay's feelings?

  She struggles to remember her mother
• What does the digital watch symbolize in the poem?

  Kay's limited inheritance from her mother
• What does the imagery of flowers hanging their heads suggest?

  Feelings of shame and guilt
• What does the oxymoron "suddenly grow old" convey?

  Contradiction in feelings about aging
• How does the repetition of "her hands, awkward and hard to hold" affect the poem?

  It emphasizes the difficulty in their connection
• What does the phrase "compressed. Airtight." suggest about Kay's emotions?

  Her feelings are trapped and fragmented