Sorting Laundry

The speaker within Elisavietta Ritchie's poem "Sorting Laundry" is doing a common task. However, she finds a deeper meaning by folding the laundry. She remembers "folding you [him] into my life" (line 2-3, 841). As she pulls each item out, she reminisces about their dreams through a pillowcase, memories through the towels, and the keepsakes like the broken necklace. She recalls the daily routine of the "shirts and skirt and pants". She likens the paper clips as the annoyances that come between her and her significant other. Finally, she picks up the necklace that makes her think of a fond memory. She reveals its origins, but her thoughts travel off into the distance with an ellipsis. It demonstrates that her stream of consciousness is impeded by a strong emotion. She reveals it through the next line, the worries of him leaving her. She could not bear the thought of him leaving.