Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Woman/Dirge for Wasted Children" by Audre Lorde, written in 1978, is a searing exploration of the complexities surrounding reproductive rights, patriarchy, and the sociopolitical landscape that condones the loss of children in various forms. Lorde employs vivid imagery and strong emotional undertones to present the tragedy of wasted lives as both a deeply personal and a collective sorrow.

The poem starts with the notion of "Awakening," introducing an immediate sense of urgency and dread, as if the speaker is waking up to an unfortunate reality. "Rumors of the necessity for your death" immediately strikes a chilling note, giving a sense that the loss of life, possibly referring to abortion or miscarriage, is already foreordained by societal norms or legal structures. The speaker describes an internal burning, likening herself to a "hungry tongue of an ochre fire," indicating a struggle fraught with pain and turmoil.

The lines "A man has had himself / appointed / legal guardian of fetuses" foreground the male intrusion into the domain of female reproductive rights. The reference to 'legal guardianship' serves as a critique of patriarchal systems that assert control over women's bodies, reducing them to battlegrounds for ideological debates. This is followed by the evocative phrase "Centuries of wasted children / warred and whored and slaughtered / anoint me guardian / for life," illustrating the sad irony that while much attention is paid to unborn lives, the living children who suffer from war, abuse, and neglect are conveniently overlooked.

As the poem progresses to its heartbreaking conclusion, Lorde uses the image of a "small dark shape" rolling down a slope, leaving a "trail of wasted blood." This shape can be interpreted as a metaphor for lost children, whether through abortion, miscarriage, or even the loss of children to violence and neglect. The blood serves as an indelible mark, a visceral reminder of the loss, echoing the earlier "drop of blood" that the speaker says is "lost."

"I am broken / into clefts of screaming" expresses the profound anguish the speaker feels. The emotive language and physicality of "broken," "clefts," and "screaming" encapsulate the speaker's sense of utter despair and shattering loss. The speaker is "bent / forever / wiping up blood / that should be / you," summarizing the perpetual cycle of loss and mourning, and the immeasurable emotional labor involved in coming to terms with these painful realities.

"Woman/Dirge for Wasted Children" masterfully encapsulates the complexities surrounding the politics of female bodies and the disposability of children in a world governed by patriarchal values. The poem leaves a haunting impression, urging us to critically evaluate the ways in which systems of power perpetuate cycles of waste and sorrow. Through her incisive poetic vision, Audre Lorde lays bare the emotional and ethical dimensions of these difficult subjects, making the poem not just an elegy for what is lost but also a clarion call for empathy, awareness, and change.

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