Kimberly Ruth is a recent graduate from SUNY New Paltz and received a degree in photography and a degree in journalism. She plans to attend graduate school in the fall, where she will work towards an MFA degree in Fine Art.
I appreciate the un-romantic simplicity of the langauage in this poem. The portrayal of a moment in time and the rhythm remind me of the work of the Imagists, a difficult style to do well as it is here. It seems, at first, that "its" refers to the pillowcase and "its refuge" is another physical object that has been removed,which means there are two objects in the poem: the pillowcase and "its refuge." What could that other object be? What protects and shelters a pillowcase? That is how I first read the poem, but upon further readings I began to add my own punctuation. If the first line read "Its refuge was:"(adding a colon) and then followed the rest of the poem, then the meaning is changed. We then see that the pillowcase received refuge in being thrown away and found useful again in some other capacity. Its refuge was not a physical object removed, but the refuge came as a result of the removing. In the end, the pillowcase was reborn, re-imagined into something of beauty and art. To portray such a universal truth...the thought that we,too,could be pulled out of the trash and once again appreciated...well, to deal with that subject so succinctly is something of an accomplishment.
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Kimberly Ruth is a recent graduate from SUNY New Paltz and received a degree in photography and a degree in journalism. She plans to attend graduate school in the fall, where she will work towards an MFA degree in Fine Art.
Congrats, Kimmy
I appreciate the un-romantic simplicity of the langauage in this poem. The portrayal of a moment in time and the rhythm remind me of the work of the Imagists, a difficult style to do well as it is here.
It seems, at first, that "its" refers to the pillowcase and "its refuge" is another physical object that has been removed,which means there are two objects in the poem: the pillowcase and "its refuge." What could that other object be? What protects and shelters a pillowcase? That is how I first read the poem, but upon further readings I began to add my own punctuation. If the first line read "Its refuge was:"(adding a colon) and then followed the rest of the poem, then the meaning is changed. We then see that the pillowcase received refuge in being thrown away and found useful again in some other capacity. Its refuge was not a physical object removed, but the refuge came as a result of the removing. In the end, the pillowcase was reborn, re-imagined into something of beauty and art. To portray such a universal truth...the thought that we,too,could be pulled out of the trash and once again appreciated...well, to deal with that subject so succinctly is something of an accomplishment.
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