Imagine your mother is dead to you and under the title of “mother”, she is an empty void like the craters in the moon. The poem Moon written by Kathleen Jamie in 2012 emphasises the relationship between the speaker and the speaker’s mother. Jamie uses metaphor, imagery and symbolism to demonstrate the speaker’s and the speaker’s mother’s troubled relationship.

The moon is an extended metaphor for the speaker’s mother. The speaker and mother has a rocky relationship, to the extent the speaker say that the moon is “not [the speaker’s] mother.” The moon is an object of darkness as it only appears during the night in darkness. The moon always carries “a small valise of darkness”. The moon’s valise is equivalent to the mother’s small handbag. A small handbag is used to carry essentials showing that the darkness is a part of her, so mother’s dark and negative aura is a part of her and therefore is shown wherever she travels. The darkness that mother brings infects the environment making the speaker sad. However, the moon also carries “the first few stars,” showing that in the midst of darkness their is a glimpse of light. Although the speaker is always left sad when mother visits, the speaker also feels a little love that a mother rightfully possess. The moon came only to visit with no intention to stay. It comes and go and is headed to the “northern sky”. The moon passes the room as path to her intended destination. Mother comes to the room out of obligation explaining the