1. “Mother – any distance greater than a single span”.
This piece is about distance between mother and son, how it grows as he grows and leaves home, but how they remain joined too.
What references to distance occur in the poem? How is distance which is growing suggested in the opening two lines?
Rhyme is often used to connect elements in a poem. Where do the rhymes fall and why?
Note the metaphor in lines 3 and 4. Why does Armitage use this imagery?
Why do you think he describes his mother in terms of “reporting back to base” and “the zero-end”?

2. 6. How is the growing distance made clear in line 7 & 8?
5. Why does Armitage break up lines 6 & 7 as he does? (Consider the word the break falls on.)
6. How is the growing distance made clear in line 7 & 8?
7. Identify other metaphors in line 8. What are the connotations of these?
8. What is the eventual outcome of this imagery in lines 10 and 11? What is this saying about their relationship? How is this shown by the page layout?
9. From line 13 onwards, what does the “endless sky” represent?
10. Why is the last line given a line by itself?