About Roo Borson...
Ruth Elizabeth Borson, "Roo," a poet. Born 20 January 1952 in Berkeley, CA. Ruth Borson was raised in Berkeley and attended Goddard College in Vermont. She moved to Vancouver in 1974, where she attended UBC. Roo Borson's early poems are primarily lyrics and meditations on natural landscapes. The publication of A Sad Device (1981) brought her wide critical attention. This book, along with Rain (1980), marked a shift in her development in its increasing use of narrative and its interest in social relationships. Roo Borson's tenth collection, Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida (2004), is similarly influenced by her interest in Asian poetry and nature. It won the Governor General's Award in 2005 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2006.
Seeing that there's no other way,
I turn his absence into a chair.
I can sit in it,
gaze out through the window.
I can do what I do best
and then go out into the world.
And I can return then with my useless love,
to rest,
because the chair is there.
This poem has so much to say in such few lines. This is obviously about losing someone close to her. Talking about "his" absence maybe she is talking about a friend, lover, or father. What I do gather from this poem is the intense impact the loss of this person has had on her. Emotionally and mentally a reader can just tell she is drained. / Seeing that there's no other way // I turn his absence into a chair / She is obviously at a loss, doesn’t know what to think. We can look at this chair a few different ways. A chair can represent stability, maybe a good place to rest. This can also represent the complete absence of a person, meaning the emptiness of the chair also could remind her of the person not being there anymore. In the lines / I can sit in it // gaze out through the window / could be her saying she can hold all her memories into this place. She can feel it and let herself feel her emotions here. Usually when a person is gazing out through a window they are in deep thought. It could also be her watching the world passing her by or watching the world move on without this person around anymore. / I can do what I do best / this line represents her doing what she does best, thinking, feeling, missing this person, anything really. The part of this poem most relatable is / and then go out into the world / showing that she must continue her life. This could mean work, friends, family, and putting on a happy face. When a person loses a loved one often the hardest part aside from the actual loss is going out into the world and dealing with people in general. Often times a person would want to be alone to deal with the trauma. More often than not we do not get the time to grieve. Life must continue. When she says / and I can return then with my useless love / this is talking about how she had love for this person and now they are gone. The love is now useless, has no point but she can still feel the love she had for this person. I believe / to rest // because the chair is there / means she is done pretending she is happy at this time. She can now continue to feel the pain, presence, and emotions that have been kept inside.
I turn his absence into a chair.
I can sit in it,
gaze out through the window.
I can do what I do best
and then go out into the world.
And I can return then with my useless love,
to rest,
because the chair is there.
This poem has so much to say in such few lines. This is obviously about losing someone close to her. Talking about "his" absence maybe she is talking about a friend, lover, or father. What I do gather from this poem is the intense impact the loss of this person has had on her. Emotionally and mentally a reader can just tell she is drained. / Seeing that there's no other way // I turn his absence into a chair / She is obviously at a loss, doesn’t know what to think. We can look at this chair a few different ways. A chair can represent stability, maybe a good place to rest. This can also represent the complete absence of a person, meaning the emptiness of the chair also could remind her of the person not being there anymore. In the lines / I can sit in it // gaze out through the window / could be her saying she can hold all her memories into this place. She can feel it and let herself feel her emotions here. Usually when a person is gazing out through a window they are in deep thought. It could also be her watching the world passing her by or watching the world move on without this person around anymore. / I can do what I do best / this line represents her doing what she does best, thinking, feeling, missing this person, anything really. The part of this poem most relatable is / and then go out into the world / showing that she must continue her life. This could mean work, friends, family, and putting on a happy face. When a person loses a loved one often the hardest part aside from the actual loss is going out into the world and dealing with people in general. Often times a person would want to be alone to deal with the trauma. More often than not we do not get the time to grieve. Life must continue. When she says / and I can return then with my useless love / this is talking about how she had love for this person and now they are gone. The love is now useless, has no point but she can still feel the love she had for this person. I believe / to rest // because the chair is there / means she is done pretending she is happy at this time. She can now continue to feel the pain, presence, and emotions that have been kept inside.