Mother Any Distance by Simon Armitage

Mother Any Distance by Simon Armitage

This poem is written by Simon Armitage in which he talks about the

relationship between him and his mother and the great affect she had

on his life. "you come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors…".

This shows that his mother helped him a lot whenever he needed someone

to help him. The quote also shows us that he's moving into a new house

because you would usually need to carry out these measurements when

moving in, but even after he will be moving into a new house and away

from her security, she is still there for him. This emphasizes that

they have a strong and healthy relationship. He also talks about how

he feels as he is moving further away from him mother. "…unreeling

years between us.". he shows that he still feels attached to her even

though he is moving away but at the same time he claims that he feels

free and has to have his own responsibility.

Now that he is moving houses, he feels a very big space between his

mother and himself. "..prairies of the floors…". This shows that he is

venturing a long distance without her, which conveys the idea that he

is growing up and he is carrying responsibility over himself.

"…unreeling years between us…" shows that he is still attached to her

although he is moving away. This shows that what she has taught him in

life will always be a part of him, and that there is a very strong

connection between them ever since childhood. "Anchor. Kite" Each word

in this phrase are metaphors. The kite represents Armitage's freedom

and the anchor represents his mother's security. He used this phrase

to show that although he wants freedom, he also wants the security of

his mother. The two contrasting words also emphasize that his life

will change a lot when he leaves his mother. Moving away will have a

big effect on him.

The metaphor of freedom starts in the second verse on the third line.