The poem starts when the poet is on her way to cochin airport with her old mother, she looks at her and is worried about her mother. She compares her with a corpse. Her mother has aged and her face appears to be colourless, pale and wan face. She has stuck in the fear of loosing her. The poet feels pain and when she looked outside the window, she saw sprinted tress alongside the merrily playing children which symbolizes life, youth, vitality and energy. The poet reminds that when she was a child and her mother was young , and she fears of loosing her for short time but now she knows that she will loose her forever.
Whenever the poet looks at her mother’s colourless and pale face she realizes that her mother has aged and her end is near. She knows that at this time her mother only needs her support, love and care. She knows that after this moment she won’t be able to meet her as her mother can die any moment and then she will lose her forever. That all was the pain and ache that poet felt.
Here the poet used personification here by using young trees. While moving in a car the trees appear to be moving opposite to the direction of the car. The movement of the trees is in stark contrast with the stillness associated with the mother.
The contrast of merry children “spilling out of their homes” reflects the idea of youth and beauty, energy, vitality, charm that her old mother has lost.
The mother has been compared to late winter’s moon as she is very old her face is wan, pale and withered. She appears to be dull and shrouded just like a late winter’s moon.
The parting words ‘see you soon Amma’ expresses the poet’s optimism. She gives a smile to her mother and said these words which give a hope to her mother that she will soon visit again. She smiles to conceal her fear and pain of separation from her mother and gives her a hope survival.