miss rosie

'Cruelty,' 'Lucy,' 'Admonitions'Lucille Clifton was an American poet, writer, and educator from Buffalo, New York. From 1979 to 1985 she was Poet Laureate of. In 1988, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, 1969-1980 (1987). In 2001, she won the National Book Award for Blessing the Boats. Clifton made another first when she became the first Black woman to win the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2007. Her poems have appeared in over 100 anthologies. Finalist for the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry A landmark collection by one of America's major black poets, Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir 1969-1980 includes all of Lucille Clifton's first four published collections of extraordinary vibrant poetry- Good Times, Good News About the Earth, An Ordinary Woman, and Two-Headed Woman -as well as. “You might as well answer the door, my child, the truth is furiously knocking.” ― Lucille Clifton. Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was the 2007 recipient of the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, as well as the 2010 Frost Medal from the Poetry Society of America. Her final poetry collection, Voices, was published by BOA in September 2008. She was an award-winning poet, fiction writer, and author of children's books.

when I watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels
or
when I watch you
in your old man’s shoes
with the little toe cut out
sitting, waiting for your mind
like next week’s grocery
I say
when I watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in Georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
I stand up
through your destruction
I stand up

Analysis

The first sense the reader receives from this poem is one of sympathy. Clifton speaks in the first person to someone obviously less fortunate than she is. This poem revolves around different sets of images that everyone can identify with, bringing emotion along with them. “Garbage” and “the smell of too old potato peels”, gives the impression that she is talking to a homeless person. The fact that the potato peels are old, suggests that this person’s time has past them by, and they have nothing left. The picture of someone who has fallen on hard times enters the reader’s mind, creating this feeling of sympathy.

The second stanza reiterates the first. The line “in you old man’s shoes” gives the image of a man. But the second stanza differs from the first in the way it talks about time. In the first stanza Clifton speaks of something that has already past. But in this stanza, she talks about something in the future. “Sitting, waiting for you mind like next week’s grocery,” implies that not only does this person have no past, they also have no future. Nothing good will ever happen to them again.

The previous images that Clifton has used almost automatically give the reader the feeling of sympathy. Clifton uses this against the reader, showing her own emotion in a shocking twist. “You wet brown bag of a woman,” shows a tone of harshness, bordering on hatred. It also changes the suggested gender of the person, creating more emotional conflict. In the following lines Clifton tells the story. This woman was once a very beautiful girl in Georgia, even referred to as “the Georgia Rose.” The last three lines really convey the thoughts passing through Clifton’s mind. “I stand up, through your destruction, I stand up.” At first this sounds malicious, but knowing Clifton’s background, it is not. Clifton is simply conveying that because of this woman’s attempts at success, she is now able to succeed. Clifton’s success is not entirely her own, she owes it to the people that helped her get there. Because of past failed attempts, success can finally be achieved.

Critical Analysis Link: http://www.mannmuseum.com/analysis-of-lucille-clifton-s-miss-rosie/

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