It was a dream . . .

It was a dream

in which my greater self

rose up before me
accusing me of my life
with her extra finger
whirling in a gyre of rage
at what my days had come to.
what,

i pleaded with her, could i do,
oh what could i have done?
and she twisted her wild hair
and sparked her wild eyes
and screamed as long as
i could hear her
This. This. This.

                   -Lucille Clifton

This is what I love about free verse poems, or better yet, this is what I love about what can be done with free verse poems! Looking at the word choices and the punctuation, it is purely simple. With such few words Clifton has been able to debauch my mind and go into deep thinking on what this poem means to me personally.

The simplicity of the poem allows me to control what my imagination makes of it while still have an influence. A women laying in bed in visions herself rising above her, surrounded with rage, the rage twisting her hair violently. I imagine her hair a goddess color, such as silver. And her skin being lightly silver too. Aspects of her are inhuman, her glowing eyes and extra flanges. With an extra finger the evil, goddess like version of her, screams at her of her wrongs and what her life has come too. The setting is a dirty apartment room, in a low end town. As the mirage of herself screams at her, "This. This. This." She is referring to where she is in life and where she could be. This can be different for everyone of course, but this is what I see.

The meaning will, no doubt, be different for everyone. I think of what I could of done, not for myself, but for a family member. I also think of this as a sign, it could be a dream that represents the future, it could be a warning of what is to come if Lucille does not change her ways. In this way, I think of college. Freshman year of college is a make it or break it point, I have large decisions to make that will affect my future greatly!

I also enjoy how the title of the poem flows into the body of the poem. Unique.

"This. This. This." The strongest line in the entire poem. It's a good concluding line that leaves the readers with things to think about. It sets in one of those "awwww" moments, where the reader may receive a few chills or an odd feeling in the chest, which is fantastic.

This is one of my favored poems.