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A Photograph Poem, Explanation, , Line 1 - 4:, , The cardboard shows me how it was, When the two girl cousins went, paddling,, , Each one holding one of my mother’s, hands,, , And she the big girl — some twelve, years Or SO

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Paddling - walking, , In these lines, the poet is looking at an, old photo album which is made up of, cardboard. In the picture, there are, three girls who are walking on the, beach holding each other’s hands. The, girl in the middle is the tallest and, oldest, the other two girls on each side, are younger than her. The girl in the, middle is the poet’s mother. She is, around twelve years old when the, picture was taken.

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picture was taken., , Line 5-9:, , All three stood still to smile through, their hair, , At the uncle with the camera. A sweet, face,, , My mother's, that was before | was, born., , And the sea, which appears to have, changed less,, , Washed their terribly transient feet, , Transient - short-term; temporary, , In the above lines, the poet describes, how the photograph was taken. Her, mother’s uncle took the photograph, and told them to stop and pose. All, three of them left their wet hair open, and smiled at the camera. The poet's, attention is drawn towards his, mother’s face which is described as a, ‘sweet face’. The photograph was, taken long before the poet was born., The poet calls their feet ‘terrible, transient’ as they were so young by, then and now they had grown older., On the other hand, the sea which, touched their feet has changed less.

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then and now they had grown older., On the other hand, the sea which, touched their feet has changed less., , Line 10 - 13:, , Some twenty-thirty — years later, She’d laugh at the snapshot., , “See Betty And Dolly,” she'd say, “and, look how they, , Dressed us for the beach.” The sea, holiday, , Snapshot - photograph, , After twenty-thirty years later, she, would laugh at the photograph. She, would tell me to look at her cousins,, Betty and Dolly and how their parents, would dress all three of them up for, the beach. They would have planned, to take a photograph beforehand.

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Line 14-15:, , Was her past, mine is her laughter., Both wry, , With the laboured ease of loss., Wry - ironic; mocking, , The poet recalls the sea holiday was, her mother’s favourite moment from, the past. While the poet's, favouritemoment from the past was, her mother’s laughter. Both the, women would think about those past, memories which they cannot live, again. They tried their best to adjust to, what they lost.