Lucille Clifton
Bio
good times (1969)
my mama moved among the days
my daddy’s fingers move among the couplers
good times
the discoveries of fire
admonitions
in the inner city
lane is the pretty one
miss rosie
robert
good news about the earth (1972)
the way it was
the lost baby poem
the news
song
prayer
the ’70’s
earth
daddy
Uncollected Poems (1973-1974)
All of Us Are All of Us
an ordinary woman (1974)
sisters
in salem
sisters
leanna’s poem
salt
god’s mood
my boys
last note to my girls
a visit to gettysburg
i agree with the leaves
the lesson of the falling leaves
i am running into a new year
the coming of Kali
she understands me
she is dreaming
calming Kali
lucy one-eye
breaklight
Uncollected Poems (ca. 1975)
Anniversary 5/10/74
November 1, 1975
“We Do Not Know Very Much About Lucille’s Inner Life”
two-headed woman (1980)
homage to mine
lucy and her girls
i was born with twelve fingers
homage to my hair
homage to my hips
what the mirror said
There is a girl inside
to merle
august the 12th
on the death of allen’s son
poem on my fortieth birthday to my mother who died young
two-headed woman
in this garden
the making of poems
new year
sonora desert poem
my friends
wife
i once knew a man
angels
conversation with my grandson, waiting to be conceived
the mystery that surely is present
the light that came to lucille clifton
testament
incandescence
mother, i am mad
perhaps
explanations
to joan
friends come
confession
Next (1987)
we are all next
winnie song
cruelty. don’t talk to me about cruelty
there
what spells raccoon to me
this belief
why some people be mad at me sometimes
sorrow song
1. at creation...
them bones
or next
the death of crazy horse
crazy horse names his daughter
crazy horse instructs the young men but in their grief they forget
the message of crazy horse
lives
singing
in white america
shapeshifter poems
quilting (1987-1990)
what the grass knew
section titles are taken from the names of traditional quilt designs
quilting
log cabin
i am accused of tending to the past
note to myself
poem beginning in no and ending in yes
february 11, 1990
defending my tongue
memo
catalpa flower
the birth of language
we are running
questions and answers
the last day
eight-pointed star
wild blessings
december 7, 1989
lot’s wife 1988
somewhere
when i stand around among poets
water sign woman
photograph
tree of life
How art thou fallen from Heaven
remembering the birth of lucifer
whispered to lucifer
eve's version
lucifer understanding at last
the garden of delight
adam thinking
eve thinking
the story thus far
lucifer speaks in his own voice
The Book of Light (1992)
Light
reflection
climbing
june 20
daughters
c.c. rider
she lived
for roddy
the women you are accustomed to
lightning bolt
it was a dream
each morning i pull myself
here yet be dragons
the yeti poet returns to his village to tell his story
crabbing
the earth is a living thing
Move
splendor
seeker of visions
Nothing is told about Sisyphus in the underworld
Atlas
sarah’s promise
naomi watches as ruth sleeps
cain
leda
The Terrible Stories (1996)
telling our stories
1. A Dream of Foxes
Fox
the coming of fox
dear fox
leaving fox
one year later
a dream of foxes
2. From the Cadaver
amazons
lumpectomy eve
consulting the book of changes: radiation
1994
scar
hag riding
down the tram
rust
from the cadaver
3. A Term in Memphis
shadows
slaveships
entering the south
the mississippi river empties into the gulf
old man river
auction street
4. From the Book of David
dancer
son of jesse
david has slain his ten thousands
to michal
Blessing the Boats (2000)
the times
signs
moonchild
libation
report from the angel of eden
Mercy (2004)
the gift
april
after one year
children
surely i am able to write poems
what has been made
in the geometry
there is a star
Voices (2008)
marley was dead to begin with
aunt jemima
uncle ben
cream of wheat
horse prayer
raccoon prayer
dog’s god
Early Uncollected Poems (1963-1969)
Black Women
Old Hundred
The Old Availables Have
the last Seminole is black
satchmo
chan’s dream
5/23/67
The Coming of X
Uncollected Poems & Last Poems (2006-2010)
birth-day
godspeak: out of paradise
lucifer morning-star to man-kind after the fall: in like kind
man-kind: in image of
angelspeak
mother-tongue: the land of nod
mother-tongue: to the child just born
mother-tongue: after the child’s death
mother-tongue: after the flood
the rainbow bears witness
ninevah: waiting
mother-tongue: babylon
mother-tongue: to man-kind
godspeak
mother-tongue: we are dying
mother-tongue: in a dream before she died
sodom and gomorrah
prodigal
mankind: over the jordan, into the promised land
lucifer morning-star
armageddon
man-kind: digging a trench to hell
godspeak: kingdom come
6/27/06
some points along some of the meridians
untitled
she leans out from the mirror
Titled
new orleans
after the children died she started bathing
haiku
An American Story
God Bless America
in the middle of the Eye
Vocalist - Joan Grant
Poem Source: The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 - BOA Editions Ltd – 2012
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