dangerous

to disdain the plaster saints

before which your mother kneels

praying with embarrassing fervor

that you survive in the place you have chosen to live:

a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls,

a forgetting place where she fears you will die

of loneliness and exposure.



What imagery in this passage creates a visual of the speaker’s heritage?


“loneliness and exposure”

“plaster saints,” “mother kneels praying”

“the place you have chosen to live,” “a forgetting place”

“a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls”