The Whole Family

The Whole Family - meaning Summary

Aging and Communal Mourning

The poem compresses an ordinary scene into a quiet meditation on aging, mortality, and family continuity. A group of elderly relatives, their white hair and canes emphasized, move together to visit graves. The image links present frailty with respect for the dead, suggesting shared history, ritual, and the cycle of life. The brevity leaves space for the reader to supply details and feel the atmosphere of gentle solemnity.