Refugee Mother and Child
Refugee Mother and Child
The poem “ Refugee Mother and child” deals with death and sadness. The author conveys these images by creating a tragic atmosphere through the introduction of disturbing images and strong words. At the beginning of the first stanza the author strikes us by telling us that the child will soon die: “ for a son she soon will have to forget ”. Using the word “ a son she soon” reinforces the idea of death. Images of the mother “combing the rust-colored hair left on her son’s skull ”, “washed-out ribs , “dried up bottoms” and “ blown empty bellies ”, are all strong indications of suffering and further suggest death. The poet constructs images of life-in-death when he states that “ most mothers there had long ceased to care but not this one; she had a ghost smile between her teeth and in her eyes a mother’s pride”. Here the poet implies that many mothers would have given up hope a long time ago and would have practically turned away as their child perished or after they had already passed away ,as a result of lost hope. There is a subtle sign of a mother that has come to terms with the fact that her son has died, but still wants to share time with him before she completely lets him go. When the poet mentions “the ghost smile”, he tries to express that there was once “a smile between her teeth”, but now it is slowly disappearing, referring to the ghost, but something still remains, she still remembers or longs for “her mothers pride”. A sense of life-in-death is suggested here, by telling the reader that although her son has passed her motherly pride and mothers instincts are still alive. The most prominent emotions that the two images of motherhood share are compassion , pride, and love for their child. Mary (the Madonna) who is the mother of Jesus was known as a loving , compassionate and religious woman, who loved her son very much , as did the refugee mother. The metaphor in the first stanza, “ No Madonna and child could
The poem “ Refugee Mother and child” deals with death and sadness. The author conveys these images by creating a tragic atmosphere through the introduction of disturbing images and strong words. At the beginning of the first stanza the author strikes us by telling us that the child will soon die: “ for a son she soon will have to forget ”. Using the word “ a son she soon” reinforces the idea of death. Images of the mother “combing the rust-colored hair left on her son’s skull ”, “washed-out ribs , “dried up bottoms” and “ blown empty bellies ”, are all strong indications of suffering and further suggest death. The poet constructs images of life-in-death when he states that “ most mothers there had long ceased to care but not this one; she had a ghost smile between her teeth and in her eyes a mother’s pride”. Here the poet implies that many mothers would have given up hope a long time ago and would have practically turned away as their child perished or after they had already passed away ,as a result of lost hope. There is a subtle sign of a mother that has come to terms with the fact that her son has died, but still wants to share time with him before she completely lets him go. When the poet mentions “the ghost smile”, he tries to express that there was once “a smile between her teeth”, but now it is slowly disappearing, referring to the ghost, but something still remains, she still remembers or longs for “her mothers pride”. A sense of life-in-death is suggested here, by telling the reader that although her son has passed her motherly pride and mothers instincts are still alive. The most prominent emotions that the two images of motherhood share are compassion , pride, and love for their child. Mary (the Madonna) who is the mother of Jesus was known as a loving , compassionate and religious woman, who loved her son very much , as did the refugee mother. The metaphor in the first stanza, “ No Madonna and child could