“The orchids my mother gave me when we first met
are still alive, twelve days later. Although
some of the buds remain closed as secrets”
Kay’s poems dwell on the mother-daughter relationship in how complicated and complex they can become. As an adopted child she has both a relationship with her adoptive parents and the birth mother. The statement refers to orchids as the bond between Kay and her birth mother that is as fragile as the flowers. Though she has a healthy relationship with her adoptive mother, she seeks to build a connection with her own blood. The poem alludes to Kay’s interaction with her mother which made some progress in their relationship but it is still complex. Her birth mother is secretive and guarded which creates a rift that she cannot resolve.
“I am scared my mum is going to die
on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums.”
Several of her poems deal with the loss and grief that comes from losing someone close to you. In the poem, the young speaker is visiting her mother in the hospital who is ailing from a serious disease. The mother is brave and strong in the face of the illness which she expresses by rejecting the trappings of sickness. However, the speaker is afraid that she might lose her mother and visits her with traditional hospital hampers. Though the mother exhibits humor through her sickness, the speaker dwells on the tragic outcome. In the book, Kay addresses health and sickness because of the sense of loss and fear that it breeds.
“Now, I peek in your room and stare at your bed
hardly able to imagine you back in there sleeping”
Kay delves into the idea of change because it affects relationships, identity, and connections. As such, illustrates how change is inevitable in all relationships even parent-child relationships. In the poem, Kay mentions the fleeting nature of childhood since children grow up too fast and leave home. She narrates her son leaving home to travel the world during the gap year that she thought they will be together. Kay has to come to terms that her son is no longer the infant she birthed not so long ago. Though she is proud of her grown-up child, she is sad because she yearns for the relationship they had when he was younger.
