Stanza One
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Line no.
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Line
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Interpretation
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1
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My small
grandmother is tall there,
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The persona is describing
her grandmother in the photograph (tall : healthy & well)
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2
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straight-back,
white broderie anglaise shirt,
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Her physical appearance
(straight-back) & what she wears (very neat & proper)
Note: broderie anglaise is French for ‘English embroidery’
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3
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pleated
skirt, flat shoes, grey bun,
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4
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a kind,
old smile round her eyes.
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Her smile shows that she is
kind & gentle
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5
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Her big
hand holds mine,
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Her grandmother is loving
& caring
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6
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white
hand in black hand.
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The white hand belongs to
her grandmother & the black hand is the persona’s (togetherness)
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7
|
Her sharp
blue eyes look her own death in the eye.
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Her grandmother’s vision is
still good but she is actually dying
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Stanza Two
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Line no.
|
Line
|
Interpretation
|
1
|
It was
true after all; that look.
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‘that look’ refers to the look of someone
dying
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2
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My tall
grandmother became small.
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Her grandmother’s condition
got worse when she was sick and dying
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3
|
Her back
round and hunched.
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4
|
Her soup
forgot to boil.
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She was too ill to take
care of herself
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5
|
She
went to the awful place grandmothers go.
|
She died
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6
|
Somewhere
unknown, unthinkable.
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The place her grandmother
was sent to(afterlife) - was a mystery to the persona
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Stanza Three
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Line no.
|
Line
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Interpretation
|
1
|
But there
she is still,
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The persona is looking at the
photograph of her grandmother and her when she was three years old
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2
|
in the
photo with me at three,
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3
|
the
crinkled smile is still living, breathing.
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To her, the memory of her
old grandmother is still new and fresh
|
.
