Apostrophe

Unlike many poems written in the second person, which might conceivably be addressed to the person referred to as "you," "Two Poems for T." does not seem like it is really written to be spoken to its subject. T. is described as being distant and cautious, a person of action, close to the earth. One of the poem's main points is that T. is a simple country person who does not use words well.

A poem that is spoken to a person who will not hear it or to an inanimate object or an animal is called an "apostrophe." Often such poems are used to beg for grace from gods, or to show aspects of a natural object, such as a bird, by speaking to it as if it were human. Here, T. is treated like an object of nature that the poet views from afar. She is...