'A matter of language, and life'

 

“Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.” – Lucille Clifton

Born near Buffalo, NY, on June 27, 1936 Clifton studied and lived in Washington, DC, before settling in her adopted Maryland where from 1979–1985 she was the state’s Poet Laureate. Common topics in her poetry include the celebration of her African American heritage and feminist themes as well as  daily life in the city and the home.

Her writing began as a hobby, but when a friend who also was a friend of the poet Langston Hughes passed along some of her work to him, he encouraged her to stop her job and concentrate on writing. 

 

 

    “People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and that’s a mistake,” she said.  “One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.”  For Saturday's Poem, here is Clifton's,

            I am accused

 

i am accused of tending to the past
as if i made it,
as if i sculpted it
with my own hands. i did not.
this past was waiting for me
when i came,
a monstrous unnamed baby,
and i with my mother's itch
took it to breast
and named it
History.
she is more human now,
learning languages everyday,
remembering faces, names and dates.
when she is strong enough to travel
on her own, beware, she will.