The mother can be divided into six sections by observing shifts in the thought process of the subject. The beginning stanza of this poem, which composes the first section, focuses in on the subject “you.” You will not be able to forget, you did not get to do this or that with your unborn child. The “you” refers to the mother that has lost her child. But in the next section, there is a subject shift from “you” to “I.” Now, the speaker is the mother who has lost her child. The speaker talks about what has been stolen from her children that never had the chance to see the light of day. Next, section 3 begins with “and your deaths.” It’s interesting how Brooks decided to place “and your deaths” in its own line. It seems hesitant. “And your deaths”
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“Voices” is first used to personify wind, and after she uses it to state she heard the voices of her dead children in the wind. Why did she repeat voices? What if she had heard instead the cries of her children in the wind? If the speaker had used two different words, the echo would be lost. The use of “voices” in two different cases makes the line more interesting, as if those voices are haunting us; following us. Another repeated word, “dim,” is used twice, but in two separate lines. In both instances, “dim” is used as an adjective to modify the children, but first, the “killed children” are dim, and next, the “dears” are dim. “Dim” is used in the same way, and yet, the meaning seems to change from one use to the next. “Dim killed children” is more blunt and condescending, while “dim dears” is full of pity and unconditional love for the children. In addition, the word “deliberate” is repeated twice in the same line, but first, it is used as a noun, and second, it is used as a verb. The speaker says, “Believe that even in my deliberateness, I was not deliberate.” The speaker’s “deliberateness” refers to her choice to get the abortion, but she was not deliberate in the action of killing a human being. Her choice to have the pregnancy aborted was not on the same wavelength as killing her child. This choice was not easy for her, but it had to be done for some reason. Lastly, the word “whine” recurs twice: first, at the end of line 23, and then immediately following, at the beginning of line 24. This repetition of “whine” makes it seem like whining in itself, like a child whining to her father to buy her the swirly lollipop, over and over. So, in this example of repetition, it reinforces the definition of the word, and makes it more
“Voices” is first used to personify wind, and after she uses it to state she heard the voices of her dead children in the wind. Why did she repeat voices? What if she had heard instead the cries of her children in the wind? If the speaker had used two different words, the echo would be lost. The use of “voices” in two different cases makes the line more interesting, as if those voices are haunting us; following us. Another repeated word, “dim,” is used twice, but in two separate lines. In both instances, “dim” is used as an adjective to modify the children, but first, the “killed children” are dim, and next, the “dears” are dim. “Dim” is used in the same way, and yet, the meaning seems to change from one use to the next. “Dim killed children” is more blunt and condescending, while “dim dears” is full of pity and unconditional love for the children. In addition, the word “deliberate” is repeated twice in the same line, but first, it is used as a noun, and second, it is used as a verb. The speaker says, “Believe that even in my deliberateness, I was not deliberate.” The speaker’s “deliberateness” refers to her choice to get the abortion, but she was not deliberate in the action of killing a human being. Her choice to have the pregnancy aborted was not on the same wavelength as killing her child. This choice was not easy for her, but it had to be done for some reason. Lastly, the word “whine” recurs twice: first, at the end of line 23, and then immediately following, at the beginning of line 24. This repetition of “whine” makes it seem like whining in itself, like a child whining to her father to buy her the swirly lollipop, over and over. So, in this example of repetition, it reinforces the definition of the word, and makes it more