meaning of "Little mother"
Two questions about a poem:
1. What does "Little mother" mean here? I have not heard of it yet.
2. I have no idea what this line is supposed to mean: "Did you kill, carve, gesture to god or gods?"
Poem:
I know her touch. Though she could easily snap
My wrist, she is gentle in my dream.
She probes my face, scans my arm,
She touches my hand to know me.
Her eyes are grey in the dream, and bright.
Little mother, forgive me.
I wake you for answers in the night
Like any infant. Tell me about touch.
What necessities designed your hands and mine?
Did you kill, carve, gesture to god or gods?
Did the caress shape your hand or your hand the caress?
Michael Donaghy, ‘Touch’ (1988)