Lucille Clifton was born in 1936 (we share a birthday of June 27) just outside of Buffalo, NY. She eventually moved to Maryland where she became the Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1979-1985. She was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice. Her work is widely enjoyed for its easy nature and voice that she gives to African-American women and women in general. In her life she published 13 collections of poetry, wrote 10 children's books, as well as a children's series based on her character Everett Anderson. She died in 2010. It was a tragic loss to the poetry community.
I can't exactly remember when I started reading Lucille Clifton or where I got the notion to check her out, but I have always loved her simple, heartfelt language. Her words feel down home. They taste like the dreams of common people with uncommon desires. I have several of her books in my collection. I was lucky enough to find "The Book of Light" at a local library sale a year or so ago.
the women you are accustomed to
wearing that same black dress,
their lips and asses tight,
their bronzed hair set in perfect place;
these women gathered in my dream
to talk their usual talk,
their conversation spiked with the names
of avenues in France.
and when i asked them what the hell,
they shook their marble heads
and walked erect out of my sleep,
back into a town which knows
all there is to know
about the cold outside, while i relaxed
and thought of you,
your burning blood, your dancing tongue.
Lucille Clifton
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