Wishes for Sons by Lucille Clifton Poem Analysis

Award-winning poet Lucille Clifton creates pieces advocating for diversity, body positivity, women's empowerment, etc. . In her “homage to my hips”, Clifton personifies her hips as these magical beings who are unstoppable. In “wishes for sons”, the poem is representing women's empowerment directed to men. Both poems spoke to me as a woman who has grown up in a society that has belittled women for centuries. Curves were considered something to be ashamed of for as long as I can remember and talking about periods was taboo. Lucille Clifton is a representation of women built in all different shapes and sizes and colors and the magic of women empowerment. 

Lucille Clifton's “homage to my hips” is just that: a poetic glorification of her hips. In each line, she personifies them and gives them beautiful descriptions of their beauty and strength. Lines 5-8 she says “ these hips // are free hips // they don’t like to be held back // these hips have never been enslaved”. I believe this is probably the most powerful set of lines in the play because of how she is using hips to signify women's rights and touches on basic civil rights of freedom. On a personal level, this poem meant the most to me because as a thicker woman I have dealt with my body type being criticized in magazines, movies, tv, people walking down the street, it feels like my everyday life is surrounded by people judging my extra curves. “These hips are magic hips” (line 12) to me is saying my hips are wider than some, sure, but because they are mine, they are magic. I love the message Clifton expresses through this entire poem. 

With the same motive but taking a different approach, Clifton wrote “wishes for sons” as a shoutout to the hardships women face every day that are often deemed “not that bad”. I love how she is explaining it so any reader could understand she is talking about a girl's period and later on menopause, but she uses scenarios that only women can truly understand. Some examples: “ … and the last tampon” (line 3), “I wish them one week early // and wearing a white skirt // I wish them one week late (lines 5-7), “ then bring them to the gynecologist” (line 17). They all sound like silly little situations that aren’t that big of a deal, but the fear of wondering when your period is going to just start without a care for what you are wearing or if you are prepared, or scared because your period is 2 days late and you don’t know if your entire life is about to change or not. The way women's body works has been degraded for so long that it is the most beautiful natural thing in human history. Clifton yet again made another witty yet powerful poem in hopes of shedding light on womanhood. 

Women have been fighting for their voices for centuries. We have been undervalued and shamed for too long. Women like Lucille Clifton use creative outlets to speak out for those who feel the pressure society puts on them. I love the way Clifton makes the poem so relatable and so understandable for such a powerful message being spread. Though they might be pretty short poems in comparison to the ones we have read for class, these two have made the biggest impression on me and made me feel like someone was finally saying what needed to be said.