question_answer 17)

What does the word 'cardboard' denote in the poem?  Why has this word been used?                                   

Answer:

The photograph is probably stuck on a cardboard. The mother is no longer alive. She is, now, as lifeless as the cardboard. The poetess has used work 'cardboard’ to imply that the lively presence of her mother cannot be felt anymore. She is just a memory. The cardboard, also, is just a non-breathing piece, which reminds her of her mother who, once upon a time, was alive.