these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don't like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!
=============================
Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) was a National Book Award, and twice an Pulitzer Prize nominee. In 1999 she was elected Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She also served as the Poet Laureate of the State of Maryland.
One sad apple
13 years ago
I know too many women who hate their hips, are embarrassed by their hips, try to hide their hips. It's refreshing to hear such praise for a body part that’s usually left behind ;)
ReplyDeleteMove over wrists the hips are taking over.
I agree. One of the reasons I liked this poem was the liberation from the usual body conciousness.
ReplyDelete...perhaps it is trite to say, but... "hip, hip, hoorah for Clifton's poem!
ReplyDeleteSigned,
a life, long "hip"-ster