It refers to both the speaker’s inability to help and the drowning man’s position in the water. Thus, option "D" is correct.
<h3>What is the theme of poem?</h3>
The mother of the dead man is not a participant in the poem. She is not mentioned explicitly in any of the verses, and there is no evidence to prove she has an impact on the dead man's current situation.
It could be argued the mother plays a role in the line "'It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way'... They said", but this phrase is rather attributed to the dead man's friends, as the speaker of the phrase is referred as "They".
Thus, option "D" is correct.
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