Thursday, February 26, 2009

Fertile Ground

Portrait
Audre Lorde

Strong women
know the taste
of their own hatred
I must always be
building nests
in a windy place
I want the safety of oblique numbers
that do not include me
a beautiful woman
with ugly moments
secret and patient
as the amused and ponderous elephants
catering to Hannibal's ambition
as they sway on their own way
home

from The Black Unicorn, 1978, W.W. Norton & co.

2 comments:

The Unadorned said...

I liked the poem. It heaves a deep sigh of pathos. Profound.

Thanx

Nanda
http://ramblingnanda.blogspot.com

Rethabile said...

She is so good:
"I must always be
building nests
in a windy place"

Thanks for the thought.