Homage & Public vs Private

Pimone Triplett’s poetry is compelling in that it encompasses not only her personal story, but also those of people she encounters in her life. In To My Cousin in Bangkok, Age 16 she writes about the boy attempting to arrange the house the way his mother would have wanted. He acts out of regret after her death “because there is always behind him, you see, the one time he didn’t.” The simple act of rearranging a home alludes to the human emotions surrounding familial ties and the connection that lasts even after the loved one is gone.

Triplett herself mirrors this identification with her mother. The maternal bond is a repeating theme in her poetry, particularly the mother that is not present. In homage to her mother, Triplett describes a night in which she is “up again at 3 a.m., one year past the age you made me.” Similar to the boy’s subtle lamentations, Triplett considers her identity in how it relates to her mother.

Triplett caught my attention because she made me consider how homage carries connotations but it does not define us; rather, it merely identifies each person with a place in the world.  The places or people of homage, rather than becoming one’s identity, contribute to shaping identity through the significance of the subject of homage to the speaker.

In Comings and Goings, Triplett describes being “in a house I will inherit in a land I can’t explain.” This infers that we merely inherit the place of our past, and that we identify or disassociate with our homage based on the manner of homage rather than the subject.  Homage, rather than being a dangerous entity, is revealing of personal identity.

De la Paz emphasizes personal identity through difference and public versus private perception of difference. The first poem in the collection immediately alludes to public interpretation of appearance with its title Manong Jose, While Cleaning His Last Window before Coffee, Sees Fidelto and Is Pleased Though Wary. Though different situations, each poem reflects the way a person’s nonconformity is viewed.

As suggested by De la Paz’s work, difference can be viewed lovingly but can be regarded negatively by strangers. When understood, unique characteristics can be revealing or endearing; however, difference in the public eye is often given no context and can be basis for public ostracizing. Manong Jose describes the boy Fidelito’s unusual appearance and how he is misunderstood as a result, while Nine Secrets the Recto Family Can’t Tell the Boy describes how Maria Elena cannot wear sleeveless shirts due a large mole. Her husband calls the mole her “beautiful armpit,” yet the public is drawn to staring; as a result “she has two wardrobes labeled ‘Public’ and ‘Private.’” I was intrigued by this differentiation because it infers that each of us has a “public” self in addition to a “private” self that is not considered appropriate for public view. 

-Casey Vittimberga