Read the following poem and answer the questions that follows:
Are You There?
My father and I shove back the furniture
to the four walls of the sitting room
then lie on the carpet wearing blindfolds,
his left hand holding my left hand
Are you there, Moriarty? he enquires, before tightening (I imagine) the grip on his rolled-up copy of yesterday’s Times. There is only one possible answer to that.
I give it while rolling away to the side but still clasping his hand, still in range, and sure enough he manages a direct hit. Now it is my turn, but the moment I lift my weapon I realise there is no reason to continue I can tell from his stillness, and the chill and stiffness of his fingers, he has been dead for a good while already.
Andrew Motion

In the last stanza of the poem,

The correct option is: The Poet Does Not Know Whether His Father Is Alive

Step-by-Step Explanation:
1. Analyzing the Game's Setting: The poem describes the father and son playing a traditional game called "Are you there, Moriarty?". In this game, both players are completely blindfolded, lying on the carpet, and holding hands to maintain contact while trying to strike each other with rolled-up paper.
2. The Limitation of Senses: Because of the blindfolds, the poet cannot see his father. He must rely entirely on touch and auditory cues to perceive his father's state.
3. Uncertainty in the Stanza: In the final stanza, when the poet feels the stillness and the cold, stiff fingers of his father, he suddenly suspects that his father is dead. However, because he remains blindfolded and has not yet uncovered his eyes to investigate or confirm, he is left in a suspended state of realization and doubt. Thus, at this exact moment in the poem, the poet does not know for certain whether his father is actually alive or has passed away.