‘My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress/Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,/Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass./Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.’
Introduction of both parents mirror each other ‘my mother/father’ reflecting closeness of relationship. Mother description more detailed as dad died when he was younger so knows less about him. ’ribbon’ can be associated with beautiful and sweet suggesting its a precious memory. Angelic image, the mother described in a heavenly pure way.