The first stanza depicts the childhood of poet’s mother when she was enjoying a holiday on the sea side. The second stanza depicts the period when the poet’s mother has grown older and laughs at her own photograph. The third stanza depicts the time when she has died and the poet’s misses her.
The circumstance refers to the situation and the lapse of time since the poet’s mother died.
The sea holiday became the past of the poet’s mother. And her laughter became the poet’s past. Both the posts are sad but the pain has been accepted with a lot of effort as life has to go on.
Poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot of her when she was a child. This ‘laugh’ indicates her joy and youthfulness. It also indicated her innocent youthful spirit.
The sea has not changed over the years. It suggests that nature and its objects do not undergo a change. They remain the same over the years. It also suggests that with the passing of time man dies, but nature remains unchanged.
The camera had captured the natural smile and the sweet face of the poet’s mother with her two cousins each one holding her hand.
The word cardboard denotes the photo frame of the photograph of the poet’s mother with her two cousins. It has been used to denote that it was very old.
The sea has not changed much with the passage of time. It is in sharp contrast to short, transient and temporary life and existence of human beings.
The poet’s has no words to express her reaction to this solemn and painful incident. Death silences everyone. The extensive quietness and prevailing gloom silences her.