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. The Context of the Game: The poem describes a game of "Are you there, Moriarty?", which the speaker and his father play while lying on the carpet. Crucially, the poem specifies that they are "wearing blindfolds" and holding hands.
2. Blindfolded Perception: Because the poet is wearing a blindfold, he is completely deprived of sight. He cannot visually verify his father's condition and must rely solely on touch ("chill and stiffness of his fingers") and sound ("stillness").
3. Ambiguity of the Sensation: In the context of a game where players must remain quiet and still to avoid being targeted, physical stillness and cold hands are not definitive proof of death. Without being able to remove the blindfold or get medical confirmation, the poet is left in a state of sensory uncertainty, meaning he does not know for sure whether his father is actually alive or simply participating silently in the game.