Simon Armitage Mother Any Distance

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The text, “Mother any distance” by Simon Armitage, is about a child and his mother. As the poem goes on we see the relationship of the mother and child naturally develop and change. As the child gets older and is becoming more independent he wants to leave the bird’s nest. Yet the mother doesn’t want to fully let go. As the reader, being placed in the poem as a teenager myself, I can personally relate to the poem. For that reason, having a healthy relationship with your parents is important as they are there to help you grow, as well as let you go and take a risk. My parents have rules that I must follow, occasionally I don’t want to follow them due to being a teenager, you have this mindset that your parents are being too strict, or unfair. …show more content…

This creates the meaning that he needs another pair of hands to help him measure his new home, the mother for instance. The first verse is where it sets the mood of the poem, like an introduction. The child and the mother are there to measure the area where the son can become more independent and create his own story. The third line “You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors, the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors”. Establishes the picture for the reader that they are measuring bigger objects, which symbolizes their relationship drifting apart. The effect of this is they are drifting apart and losing the family bond as the child becomes more independent. Simon Armitage wants a clear vision for the reader to see what is happening throughout the poem. The second verse “You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape” develops in the reader's mind, that the child is placed on the spool, which is the last inch of the tape where it finishes and you can’t go any further. The significance of this is the measuring tape is like the umbilical cord connected to the mother and child. The umbilical cord is such an important part of human nature and having that connection in real life with the child and mother creates importance and insurance that they have one

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