Poppies

Question 1

“Three days before Armistice Sunday

and poppies had already been placed”

Answer 1

The mention of Armistice Sunday and use of reported speech alerts readers to the poem’s themes of conflict and remembrance.

Question 2

“on individual war graves. Before you left,

I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals.”

Answer 2

• Weir vividly describes the intimate act of a mother pinning a poppy on her son’s lapel, highlighting the personal sacrifice made by families in war.
• The intimacy of tone is reflected in the use of “I” and “you” pronouns, highlighting how war affects individuals.

Question 3

“Sellotape bandaged around my hand,

I rounded up as many white cat hairs

as I could …”

Answer 3

Mundane details like cat hairs on clothing convey a sense of familiarity, enhancing the poignancy of the speaker’s grief and memories.

Question 4

“Upturned collar, steeled the softening of my face.

I wanted to graze my nose across the tip of your nose.”

Answer 4

• Weir portrays the mother’s struggle to contain her emotions with intimate detail.
• The oxymoron “Steeled the softening” suggests a poignant internal conflict, subverting typical ideas of bravery in war.

Question 5

“to run my fingers through the gelled

blackthorns of your hair. All my words

flattened, rolled, turned into felt,”

Answer 5

• The tactile imagery of grooming highlights the loss of physical connection.
• Weir’s metaphor of words becoming felt symbolises the depth of the parent’s grief and their struggle to articulate it.

Question 6

“After you’d gone I went into your bedroom,

released a song bird from its cage.”

Answer 6

• Weir employs metaphor, with the release of a bird symbolising the son’s departure.
• This signifies the parent’s act of letting go and the journey towards acceptance.

Question 7

“skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy

making tucks, darts, pleats,…”

Answer 7

The repeated reference to clothes-making links parenthood to the formation of something new, but with the use of “tucks”, “darts” and “pleats” suggesting containment, echoing the repressed grief the mother feels.

Question 8

“On reaching the top of the hill I traced

the inscriptions on the war memorial,

leaned against it like a wishbone.”

Answer 8

• Weir uses sensory imagery to evoke the experience of visiting the graveyard.
• The comparison to a wishbone conveys the parent’s fragility in their grief-stricken state (and seems ironic as a traditional symbol of luck).

Question 9

The dove pulled freely against the sky,

an ornamental stitch, I listened, hoping to hear

your playground voice …”

Answer 9

• The speaker uses the image of a dove and of a stitch coming loose to symbolise feelings of loss and frustration.
• The speaker is stuck in the past and unable to resolve their grief, still listening for their voice on the wind.

Question 10

“…without

a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.”

Answer 10

• Weir juxtaposes domestic imagery with military terms, emphasising the lack of comfort and support felt by the parent.
• This highlights the sacrifice made by families in times of conflict.