Poppies

• 'Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placed on individual war graves.'

  • Repetition: emphasises the parallel between national and personal mourning and remembrance.
  • An ominous reminder that war kills individuals, so the loss is personal.
• 'Three days before Armistice Sunday and poppies had already been placed on individual war graves.'

  • Repetition: emphasises the parallel between national and personal mourning and remembrance.
  • An ominous reminder that war kills individuals, so the loss is personal.
• 'Before you left, I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals, spasms of paper red,'

  • Symbolism: placing the poppy on him is like sentencing him to death.
  • A token of remembrance for those lost in war, the mother seems to be preparing her son for a similar fate.
  • Plosives & Consonance: the harsh sounds juxtapose the tender and motherly action described.
  • This could reflect the contrast between the pride the mother feels for her son and the sadness of him leaving.
• 'disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer.'

  • The mother feels that the poppy obstructs the protection on his blazer and therefore makes him more vulnerable.
  • Alternatively, the straight line (symbolising the continuation of his life) is obstructed, therefore the mother feels the poppy is a barrier to her son’s safety.
• 'Sellotape bandaged around my hand, / I rounded up as many white cat hairs as I could,'

  • Image of being wounded. The mother is emotionally wounded, while her son could be physically wounded in war (irony).
  • Perhaps it also links to the mother’s hands being tied; she cannot stop him from going and therefore has no choice but to prepare him for war.
• 'smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar,'

  Imagery: Domestic and motherly - this may be the last time she can do this for her son.
• 'steeled the softening of my face.'

  • The mother seems on the verge of breaking down/crying but she stops herself, because she wants to appear strong for her son.
  • The contrast between the tender actions and the metal material in the verb highlights her conflicted emotions.
• 'wanted to graze my nose across the tip of your nose, play at /being Eskimos like we did when you were little.'

  • Sensory Language (Touch): portrays how the mother longs for the closeness she had with her son when he was younger, and emphasises the distance between them now. Loss of innocence.
  • Imagery: Quite animalistic and yet affectionate.
• 'I resisted the impulse to run my fingers through the gelled/ blackthorns of your hair.'

  • Contrast: The mother has maternal urges that she has to subdue in order to let her son feel independent. Ironically, she is also sacrificing.
  • Religious Imagery: “blackthorns” allude to Jesus who wore a crown of thorns when he was crucified.
  • This hints at the sacrifice the son may make.
• 'All my words/flattened, rolled, turned into felt,'

  Metaphor & Verbs: The mother was so overcome with emotion that she was unable to control her speech.
• What does the Caesura show?

  Caesura: reflects the mother’s attempt to stay in control – she doesn’t want to get carried away with her emotions so forces herself to stop.
• 'slowly melting.'

  Enjambment: The line breaks, mimicking the fact that her voice and words have failed her.
• 'I was brave, as I walked with you, to the front door,'

  Irony: The mother is asserting her bravery, distorting the idea that it is only those who go off to war who are brave.
• 'I was brave, as I walked with you, to the front door,'

  Irony: The mother is asserting her bravery, distorting the idea that it is only those who go off to war who are brave.
• 'threw / it open,'

  Verb: sudden and violent movement suggests the breaking of a boundary.
• 'the world overflowing /like a treasure chest.'

  Simile: illustrating the world from the son’s perspective; full of adventure, exciting opportunities and experiences.
• 'A split second / and you were away,intoxicated'

  • Idiom: informal phrase gives the impression of the mother speaking freely and organically, like a conversation.
  • It conveys how quickly her son left her life.
  • The tone is reflective and melancholy.
  • Adjective: The son’s excitement contrasts with his mother’s sadness.
  • It also suggests a lack of control, for the son is so enthralled with the idea of being of a soldier that he may not be considering the reality of life at war. Perhaps the mother feels that her son’s eagerness is naïve.
• 'After you’d gone I went into your bedroom,/released a song bird from its cage.'

  Metaphor: The mother has let her emotions go whilst in her son’s bedroom (a symbol of his lost innocence) and finally cries. She chooses to do this away from his view so as not to dampen his excitement.
• 'Later a single dove flew from the pear tree, /and this is where it has led me,'

  As a symbol of peace and pacifism, the mother follows the dove, as it reminds her of her son, who she can no longer accompany through life as he has ‘flown the nest’.
• 'skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy/making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.'

  Battle Imagery: Ironically, the mother feels vulnerable and defenseless against her reality.
• 'On reaching the top of the hill I traced'

  • More sensory language: touch seems to be important to the mother – the memorial is a solid, tangible object, unlike her wishes, memories and her son.
  • Verb & Setting: It is like the mother has conquered her fears; it could be that she has accepted her son’s fate.
• 'The inscriptions on the war memorial'

  Cyclical Structure: a mimicking of the “individual war graves:, therefore a reminder of the risks her son faces and the fate he may suffer.
• 'Leaned against it like a wishbone.'

  Simile: the mother is hoping that if she leans hard enough, her wish (presumably for son to come back safely) will come true. The idea of tactility is repeated again.
• 'The dove pulled freely against the sky an ornamental stitch'

  Metaphor: strong visual image of something small, delicate and beautiful in a vast space, representing her son in war/battle.
• 'I listened, hoping to hear'

  Sensory Language: The speaker is desperate to connect to her son in any way she can.
• 'your playground voice catching on the wind.'

  Longing For The Past: she wishes for a simpler time, when his innocence had not been lost and he was not vulnerable to the perils of war. She wants to recapture the sound of his youth.
• 'your playground voice catching on the wind.'

  Longing For The Past: she wishes for a simpler time, when his innocence had not been lost and he was not vulnerable to the perils of war. She wants to recapture the sound of his youth.