My mother could not bear being blind, by Unknown — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

My mother could not bear being blind, to be honest. One shouldn’t say it. One should hide the fact that catastrophic handicaps are hell; one tends to hear, publicly from those who bear it like a Roman, or somehow find joy in the fight. She turned to me, once, in a Paris restaurant, still not finding the food on the plate with her fork, or not so that it stayed on (try it in a pitch-black room) and whispered, “It’s living hell, to be honest Adam. If I gave up hope of a cure, I’d bump myself off.” I don’t recall what I replied, but it must have been the usual sop, inadequate: the locked-in son. She kept her dignity, though, even when bumping into walls like a dodgem; her sense My mother could not bear being blind, to be honest. One shouldn’t say it. One should hide the fact that catastrophic handicaps are hell; one tends to hear, publicly from those who bear it like a Roman, or somehow find joy in the fight. She turned to me, once, in a Paris restaurant, still not finding the food on the plate with her fork, or not so that it stayed on (try it in a pitch-black room) and whispered, “It’s living hell, to be honest Adam. If I gave up hope of a cure, I’d bump myself off.” I don’t recall what I replied, but it must have been the usual sop, inadequate: the locked-in son. She kept her dignity, though, even when bumping into walls like a dodgem; her sense ablaze with colour, the ground royal with leaf-fall. I told her this, forgetting, as she sat too weak to move, staring at nothing. “Oh yes, I know,” she said, “it’s lovely out there.” Dying has made her no more sightless, but now she can’t pretend. Her eyelids were closed in the coffin; it was up to us to believe she was watching, somewhere, in the end.

Translation (English)

My mother couldn't stand being blind, really. It's something you shouldn't say. You should hide the fact that severe disabilities are awful; you often hear, publicly from those who endure it with bravery, or somehow find joy in the struggle. She once turned to me, in a Paris restaurant, still unable to find the food on her plate with her fork, or not so that it stayed on (try it in complete darkness) and whispered, "It's a living hell, honestly Adam. If I lost hope for a cure, I'd end my life." I don't remember what I said back, but it was probably the usual comfort, inadequate: the trapped son. She maintained her dignity, though, even when bumping into walls like a bumper car; her sense alive with color, the ground majestic with fallen leaves. I told her this, forgetting, as she sat too weak to move, staring at nothing. "Oh yes, I know," she said, "it's beautiful out there." Dying hasn't made her any more blind, but now she can't pretend. Her eyelids were closed in the coffin; it was up to us to believe she was watching, somewhere, in the end.

About the Poet

Unknown (Unknown)

The poet of this work remains unidentified. The poem does not appear to be attributed to a widely recognized author.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Free verse
When Written: Unknown
Background: The poem reflects on the personal and emotional challenges faced by someone dealing with blindness, possibly inspired by the poet's own experiences or observations.

Detailed Explanation

This poem explores the profound personal struggle of the poet's mother dealing with blindness. The speaker reflects on the societal expectation to endure such hardships with stoicism, yet reveals the raw truth of the suffering involved. The mother, despite her blindness, tries to maintain her dignity and composure, even when faced with the practical challenges of her condition, such as finding food on her plate. The poem captures a poignant moment in a Paris restaurant where the mother confesses to her son the living hell she experiences due to her blindness. The son, feeling inadequate, offers the usual comforting words. The poem further explores the mother's resilience, her ability to find beauty in the world despite her condition, and the ultimate acceptance of her fate as she passes away. The imagery of autumn leaves and the mention of her closed eyelids in the coffin evoke a sense of finality and peace, leaving the reader to ponder whether she is watching from beyond.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
bear	endure	to tolerate or withstand	behr
catastrophic	disastrous	extremely bad or harmful	kat-uh-strof-ik
handicaps	disabilities	physical or mental conditions that limit activities	han-di-kaps
Roman	stoic	showing endurance and courage	roh-muhn
dodgem	bumper car	a small electric car used in amusement parks	doj-em
ablaze	brightly colored	filled with bright colors	uh-bleyz
royal	majestic	grand or magnificent	roi-uhl
leaf-fall	fallen leaves	leaves that have fallen from trees	leef-fawl
sop	comfort	something given to appease	sop
pretend	fake	to act as if something is true	pri-tend