Page 1: A Mother's Farewell

The opening section of "Poppies" establishes the emotional foundation of the poem through a mother's perspective before her son's departure. The setting is placed three days before Armistice Sunday, immediately connecting the personal narrative to the broader context of war remembrance.

Highlight: The poem begins with intimate domestic scenes, emphasizing the mother's struggle to maintain composure while preparing her son for departure.

Example: The mother's actions of smoothing her son's collar and pinning a poppy to his lapel demonstrate her attempt to maintain normalcy in an extraordinary situation.

Quote: "I wanted to graze my nose / across the tip of your nose, play at / Eskimos like we did when you were little."

Vocabulary: "Crimped petals" and "bias binding" - Technical terms relating to clothing and crafting, used metaphorically to represent the mother's careful attention to detail.

Definition: The "blackthorns of your hair" represents the growing distance between mother and son, with the thorny imagery suggesting their complicated relationship.