"Mother, any distance" is a poem by the popular British poet Simon Armitage, published in the collection Book of Matches (2001). The premise of the poem is relatively simple: the speaker calls on their mother for help setting up a new home. Specifically, the speaker needs more hands on deck to help measure the dimensions of different rooms, doors, windows, and so on, presumably in order to decorate and furnish the place. Of course, the poem is about a lot more than home improvement. As the speaker and mother extend the tape measure between them, it becomes a metaphor for the enduring strength of the relationship between mothers and children.

• Read the full text of “Mother, any distance”

• “Mother, any distance” Summary

• “Mother, any distance” Themes

  • 

    Mothers and Children

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-15

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Mother, any distance”

  • Lines 1-4

    Mother, any distance ...
    ... of the floors.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 5-8

    You at the ...
    ... us. Anchor. Kite.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 9-11

    I space-walk through ...
    ... has to give;

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 12-15

    two floors below ...
    ... fall or fly.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• “Mother, any distance” Symbols

  • 

    The Measuring Tape

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-8
    • Lines 9-13
  • 

    The Anchor

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 8: “Anchor”
  • 

    The Kite

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 8: “Kite”

• “Mother, any distance” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “s,” “s,” “p”
    • Line 2: “s,” “p”
    • Line 3: “m,” “m”
    • Line 5: “r”
    • Line 6: “r,” “b,” “b”
    • Line 7: “st,” “st”
    • Line 9: “l”
    • Line 10: “l,” “l”
    • Line 12: “f,” “f”
    • Line 15: “f,” “f”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “a,” “a,” “a”
    • Line 2: “a”
    • Line 3: “e,” “ea,” “e,” “e”
    • Line 5: “e”
    • Line 6: “e,” “e,” “e,” “ea”
    • Line 7: “ee,” “ee”
    • Line 8: “ea,” “e,” “ee”
    • Line 12: “i,” “i,” “i,” “i”
    • Line 13: “i”

  • Asyndeton

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where asyndeton appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4
    • Lines 5-8
    • Lines 9-11

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Mother, any”
    • Line 3: “windows, pelmets, doors”
    • Line 4: “walls, the”
    • Line 5: “zero-end, me,” “tape, recording”
    • Line 6: “length, reporting metres, centimetres,” “base, then”
    • Line 7: “stairs, the,” “out, unreeling”
    • Line 8: “us. Anchor. Kite”
    • Line 9: “bedrooms, climb”
    • Line 10: “loft, to,” “point, where”
    • Line 13: “inch...I”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “n,” “s,” “n,” “n,” “s,” “s,” “n”
    • Line 2: “r,” “r,” “s,” “s,” “r,” “s”
    • Line 3: “m,” “m,” “m,” “s,” “s,” “s”
    • Line 4: “s,” “s,” “s,” “s”
    • Line 5: “p,” “p,” “r,” “n,” “g”
    • Line 6: “n,” “g,” “r,” “r,” “t,” “ng,” “m,” “tr,” “m,” “tr,” “b,” “b”
    • Line 7: “st,” “st”
    • Line 8: “ch,” “K”
    • Line 9: “cl”
    • Line 10: “l,” “l,” “t”
    • Line 12: “f,” “l,” “f,” “n,” “ch”
    • Line 13: “n,” “n,” “n,” “n,” “ch,” “ch”
    • Line 14: “tch,” “n,” “n,” “n,” “n,” “l,” “ss,” “s”
    • Line 15: “f,” “ll,” “f,” “l”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “span”
    • Line 2: “requires”
    • Line 5: “recording”
    • Line 6: “length,” “ leaving”
    • Line 7: “up,” “unreeling”
    • Line 8: “years”
    • Line 9: “climb”
    • Line 10: “the”
    • Line 11: “has”
    • Line 12: “pinch”
    • Line 13: “the,” “reach”
    • Line 14: “towards,” “sky”
    • Line 15: “to”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors.”
    • Lines 7-8: “the line still feeding out, unreeling / years between us. Anchor. Kite.”
    • Line 9: “I space-walk ”
    • Lines 13-15: “I reach / towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky / to fall or fly.”

• “Mother, any distance” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Span
  • Pelmets
  • Acres
  • Prairies
  • Zero-end
  • Spool
  • Unreeling
  • Space-walk
  • Loft
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “span”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Mother, any distance”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Mother, any distance” Speaker

• “Mother, any distance” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Mother, any distance”

• More “Mother, any distance” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Armitage's Life and Work — A valuable resource from the Poetry Foundation, with more poems and biographical information about Armitage.

    • Mother's Day Poems — A fine selection of other poems that also look at the mother-child relationship. 

    • Walking Home — An interesting discussion with Armitage about his book Walking Home.

    • The Poem Read by the Man Himself — Simon Armitage reads "Mother, any distance."

    • Poetry as Dissent — Armitage discusses the "obstinate nature of poetry" in this video interview with The Guardian.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Simon Armitage

    • Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass

    • Hitcher

    • Out of the Blue (Excerpt)

    • Remains

    • The Manhunt

Cite This Page