An Indian publisher of textbooks has sent me a note saying that he is going to be using the following poem of mine (from Passport Photos) along with the attached annotations and questions:

A Mother Writes In Her Letter

When the bicycle
bell rings twice at the door
I get up in a rush
forgetting that your cycle
is there in the store room
locked-up
and it couldn’t possibly be you, my son.
The truth strikes me
even before, my head spinning
I turn the handle of the door.

The summer sun is blinding.
I pray it is the postman.
Sometimes, it is.

Your letters come each week.
I am sorry I don’t write
often. And when I do
I can only speak
of waiting and loneliness:
These choices, somehow, were never mine.

Notes

get up in a rush: to get up quickly or attend to something urgently

spinning: to feel dazed, as if whirling round

summer sun is blinding: here it refers to the sun’s bright light, which makes one temporarily unable to see

Questions

1. Memories are sustained through objects/sounds as well. In this poem what is it that reminds the mother of her son?

2. What kind of relationship is being discussed in this poem? Why do you think the mother is missing her son?

3. The poem is also a commentary on the plight of women and their loneliness. Explain with reference to the general status of women in our society.

4. Have you ever faced a situation where the sight, smell or sound of something evoked in your memory the image of somebody or a past memory? Discuss.