Page 1: Introduction and Opening Analysis

The opening page introduces the Simon Armitage Mother any distance analysis through careful examination of the poem's initial stanzas. The speaker addresses his mother directly, establishing an intimate tone while measuring a new living space.

Vocabulary:

• Pelmets: Board above a window concealing curtain rails
• Acres: Large amount of land
• Prairies: Vast grassland areas

Highlight: The poem employs extended metaphors of measurement to represent the relationship between mother and child, with the tape measure symbolizing their connection.

Example: The line "Mother, any distance greater than a single span / requires a second pair of hands" establishes both physical and emotional dependency.

Quote: "You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording / length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base" demonstrates their collaborative relationship.

The page explores how imagery transitions from domestic measurements to cosmic metaphors, suggesting the speaker's impending independence.