A photograph

Themes

 Contrast between planned pat and unknown future. The photograph

represents a planned past, the way in which the children were dressed up
to go to the beach was planned by their parents. Their arrangement within
the photograph itself with the tallest and oldest girl in the middle and the
two shorter and younger was one meticulously planned. Capturing their
smile while clicking the photograph was also planned. As opposed to this
the family has no control over their future. Also nothing could stop the
death which was a part of the natural cycle and there was no way this grim
future could be avoided. The contrast between joyful past and frightful
future is therefore a stark one and provides for much of the sadness that
the past exudes towards the end of the poem.
 Unavoidability death that leaves you speechless. The poet had no control
over her mother’s death. There was no option but to accept it. She misses
her mother as laughter and her presence. The silent that the death has
caused echoes in the poet herself. She is not able to put into words how
her mother’s death has affected her. The silence that death leaves also
leaves you silent.
 Brevity of life:- The poets mother had been 12 years old when the picture
had been taken. She would talk about the picture 20-30 years older. It
means that she would look back at the picture at the age of 32 or 42.
Perhaps that time she realised that inevitable death would engulf her and
she would have to leave everything behind. She would look at the
photograph recollecting the joyful memory wanting to enjoy every moment
that she had left. This is a realisation that the poet has to. There is no way
of knowing when life leaves you since no man is immortal, so one must live
life to the fullest and never let sorrow conquer you.