In “this morning…” Lucille Clifton sees herself in the young girls she sees going to school. IN others, she sees herself, and she celebrates these young black women for their beauty and strength even despite a culture that often does not recognize or respect them. This is a beautiful morning poem, a way to meet ourselves in our past and in our present, in ourself and in others. It’s a celebration of resilience.
this morning (for the girls of eastern high school)
Lucille Clifton
this morning
this morning
i met myself
coming in
a bright
jungle girl
shining
quick as a snake
a tall
tree girl a
me girl
i met myself
this morning
coming in
and all day
i have been
a black bell
ringing
i survive
survive
survive.
Writing Prompts Inspired by This morning (for the girls of eastern high school)
*Use the lines “i met myself this morning”
Lucille Clifton almost never uses capitalizations in her poems. The form of the poem enacts the meaning, in its wide embrace of more democratic, equal structures.
Please post your comments and writing below!
To read more morning poems, or poems of transition of any kind, come on over to my blog post with 15 great morning poems.