While Leila Sleeps

• Who is forced to flee her home in the poem "Whilst Lelia Sleeps"?

  A mother with her daughter
• What situation is suggested for the mother in the poem?

  She is an immigrant facing deportation
• Why does Kay provide limited information in the poem?

  To create a universal resonance in today's politics
• What narrative style is used in "Whilst Lelia Sleeps"?

  First-person narrative
• Who is Lelia in the poem?

  She is the speaker's daughter
• What does Lelia do despite her mother's anxiety?

  She sleeps
• What does the phrase "moving in the dead of night" suggest?

  Rapid and frantic movements
• What tone does the word "dead" create in the phrase "the dead of night"?

  Sinister tone
• What does "packing things" imply about the mother's behavior?

  She is panicked and not attentive to specifics
• What does the simile "my fingers the knots like fish fishnets" suggest?

  The narrator feels trapped like a fish
• What does the statement "I want to be in my mother's house" express?

  A longing for comfort and security
• What does the enjambment in "but she is all the way over the other side of the world" emphasize?

  The distance between the speaker and her mother
• What does the phrase "other side of the world" suggest about the speaker's situation?

  It exaggerates the distance and unattainability
• What does the short sentence "I can't see out of the window" reflect?

  Abrupt move and panic
• What does "can't see out" imply about the speaker's vision?

  Obscured vision adds to uncertainty
• What does the word "bundle" suggest about Lelia?

  Her smallness, innocence, and vulnerability
• What does "small mouth" emphasize about Lelia?

  Her youth and vulnerability
• What does "It could be" indicate about the speaker's feelings?

  Confusion and uncertainty
• What do "paranoiac eyes" suggest about the narrator's state of mind?

  Searching for answers and feeling anxious
• What does "A split second" convey about the pace of events?

  Everything is happening very quickly
• What does the ambiguous word "they" contribute to the poem?

  It withholds information from the reader
• What effect does the dash in "for what?" create?

  It creates suspense and uncertainty
• What does the short sentence "I thought I was safe" reveal?

  The speaker feels threatened and unsafe
• What does the rhetorical question "for what?" imply?

  The narrator is unsure what she is escaping from
• What does "their smiles tighten my stomach" convey?

  Irony and fear from fake smiles
• What does "I bite on my tongue, hard!" signify?

  The speaker silences herself out of fear
• What do the short sentences in "their faces I have no" suggest?

  Fear and abruptness in the situation
• What does "Now there is nothing left" imply about the narrator's feelings?

  A sense of defeat and loss of hope
• What do "plain suits" symbolize in the poem?

  Power and official authority
• What does "eyes wide" suggest about Lelia?

  She is scared
• What does the sibilance in "something to soothe" mimic?

  The soothing sound the mother wants to create
• What does the metaphor "my voice is a house with the roof blown off" imply?

  The mother's voice is comforting yet insecure
• What does the question "What do I tell my daughter?" reveal about the mother?

  Her anxiety and uncertainty in the situation
• What does "We are done for!" express?

  A sense of finality and loss of hope
• What does "I cannot lie to her" indicate about the mother?

  Her duty to be honest despite danger
• What does the enjambment in "my terror" emphasize?

  The mother's visceral fear
• What does the personification in "a slow light tails the fast car" suggest?

  The ongoing paranoia of being followed
• What do the opposites "slow" and "fast" imply in the context of the poem?

  No matter how fast she runs, she is followed
• What does safety feel like or look like to individuals?

  It varies based on personal perceptions.
• How might perceptions of safety shift as one becomes a young adult?

  They may become more aware of dangers.