My Mothers Kitchen

• What are the themes of this poem


  Belonging, inheritance, support and family
• When was the poem written and by who

  In 2003, by Choman Hardi in the aftermath of the war in Iraq
• Hardis parents decided too ..


  Go home to Iraq after years of being away - like many other displaced families
• I will inherit my mothers kitchen


  The 1st stanza is very somber, even though her mothers not dead there already discussing it. Inherit implies she's dead or going to die
• There's a contrast between the 1st and last line of what ...


  She can and can't inherit
• Her glasses, some tall and lean, others short and fat

  Mismatched and thrown together, nothing special
• Her plates, an ugly collection from various sets


  There's no heirlooms or expensive items it's all cheap and temporary
• Cups bought in a rush on different occasions


  Done many times before and her mother never wanted too

  
  

  Glasses, plates, cups and rusty pots - enjambment of what she'll need
• Soon all of this will be yours

  It's all practical items, things you need for a new house
• My mother is planning another escape


  This implies that her mother has been fleeing from stuff
• What's the second stanza about

  What her mother wants, and the simplicity of it implies she enjoys simple things
• First time home is her destination


  She's not fleeing or escaping from/ too there, she wants to be there
• At 69


  It's been a long time coming
• It is her ninth time

  Refers to her difficult life
• She never talks about her lost furniture, when she kept leaving her homes behind


  She's had to leave her home many times - she's had to flee a lot, she doesn't really talk much about the past
• She never feels regret for things


  She doesn't want to buy anything important in case she has to leave
• Only for her vibe in the front garden


  Grape vines have deep roots and a long life