My Mother's Kitchen - Choman Hardi

Definitive modal verb - provides certainty that her mother will pass her belongings

end stop - declarative statement - no doubt - indicates a close familiar relationship

I will inherit my mother’s kitchen,

extension enjambment + asyndetic listing - how full her life is - emphasises just how much she’s left behind - appreciative of what she has

Fond tone

Accumulated many items of the year - chaotic - a mixture of different lives and identities she’s lived through

her glasses […] her plates, an ugly collection from various sets,/ cups, bought in a rush on different occasions/ rusty pots she doesn’t throw away.

Lack of autonomy - didn’t move by choice

“escape” - ominous + extension - adds detail that she’s finally returning home - warm and grateful

My mother is planning another escape/ for the first time home is her destination,

A lifetime of fleeing persecution - content

Singular line + declarative sentence + end-stop - cold, bitter, harsh tone - reinforces how difficult her mother’s life has been

At 69 she is excited at starting from scratch./ It is her ninth time.

Symbolic of resilience + a strong sense of HOME and BELONGING - deep roots that have prevailed over time (uprooted when leaving her home)

Doesn’t feel connected to materialistic things (emotional attachment is more valued) - leaving objects behind has been normalised therefore feels no “regret”

She never feels regret for things,/ only for her cine in the front garden/ which spread over the trellis on the porch.

Nostalgic and regretful tone

End-stop - purposeful, powerful ending - emphasises the sad tone - speaker will never truly relate to her mother on this level

Won’t inherit her connection to home - no place to BELONG

Can never be recovered or passed down through generations

I know I will never inherit my mother’s trees.