Sorting Laundry- Blog 3

"Sorting Laundry" by Elisavietta Ritchie is like an insight into the mind of a woman. She uses creative poetic style by making the poem organized like a pile of laundry and imagery and diction that gives us details of her relationship with her partner. She begins with images of larger pieces of laundry like "king-sized sheets like tablecloths" (Lines 4-5) and moves all the way "a broken necklace of good gold" that was found in a pocket. Each one reminding her of her love. The shift in the poem occurs at line 41 when she is folding a shirt belonging to a man from a previous relationship. The shift of sweet memories to serious fear is what really defines this poem. Simply being reminded of an old heartbreak gives her immediate fear of what might happen if the relationship she is in now fails. Women overthink, worry too much, and never want to be lonely. Just the thought of it is enough to have the speaker nervous about what might happen if she "were to fold only her own clothes" (Line 44-45).