Now that he is moving houses, he feels a very big space between his mother and himself. "..prairies of the floors…". This shows that he is venturing a long distance without her, which conveys the idea that he is growing up and he is carrying responsibility over himself. "…unreeling years between us…" shows that he is still attached to her although he is moving away. This shows that what she has taught him in life will always be a part of him, and that there is a very strong connection between them ever since childhood. "Anchor. Kite" Each word in this phrase are metaphors. The kite represents Armitage's freedom and the anchor represents his mother's security. He used this phrase to show that although he wants freedom, he also wants the security of his mother. The two contrasting words also emphasize that his life will change a lot when he leaves his mother. Moving away will have a big effect on him.
The metaphor of freedom starts in the second verse on the third line. "…the line still feeding out…". It clearly talks about his mother leaving him. The distance between them is physical and metaphorical. Armitage said that moving away from his mother is frightening. "space-walk". He already has his freedom now and the word 'space' shows that he's not anchored down by his mother anymore.
Armitage makes the use of many structural techniques to convey the feelings he has towards his mother. He uses a list to emphasize how much she helps him in his life. "…windows, pelmets, doors…". It shows that no matter what he does and where he goes, she will always be with him to help him and guide him through life. In verse 2, Armitage chooses not to rhyme. He does this to put stress on the extended metaphor of the kite, which represents his freedom.
As in verse 2 when Armitage didn’t rhyme at the end of the verse, he changes the whole structure of the poem in verse 3. he did this to emphasize that he has his freedom and no one is in charge of him anymore. Moving away from the structure emphasizes his moving away from his mother. he is getting away with not following the structural rule of rhyming, which emphasizes that now no one is in control of him and no one can tell him what to do. he is bending the rules to his desires, which also shows that now he can do things his way, and at the same time it shows that he still needs the responsibility of his mother.
