Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"At Last We Killed the Roaches" by Lucille Clifton is a vivid and complex poem that navigates the themes of survival, familial bonds, and the violence inherent in acts of cleansing and reclaiming space. Through the lens of a seemingly mundane task—the extermination of roaches—Clifton delves into deeper psychological and emotional territories, exploring the implications of this act for the speaker and her mother, as well as the broader symbolism of roaches as invaders or undesirables in one's home and life.

The opening line, "at last we killed the roaches," conveys a sense of relief and triumph, suggesting a long-standing battle between the occupants of the house and the roaches. The partnership between "mama and me" highlights the collective effort and unity in facing this challenge, underscoring the familial bond and shared determination to rid their space of the pests.

Clifton's description of the extermination process is graphic and intense, with roaches falling "dying onto our shoulders, in our hair / covering us with red." The physicality of this description, along with the use of "red" to describe the roaches, infuses the scene with a sense of violence and bloodshed, elevating the act of killing roaches to a metaphorical level that suggests broader themes of conflict and conquest.

The line "the tribe was broken" further anthropomorphizes the roaches, granting them a sense of community and identity that is violently disrupted. This choice of wording complicates the reader's reaction to the scene, introducing a note of empathy for the roaches and prompting reflection on the nature of survival and the cost of asserting control over one's environment.

Clifton's assertion that "such cleanliness was grace / when i was twelve" reveals the innocence and simplicity of the speaker's understanding of purity and righteousness at that age. The act of cleaning, of eliminating the roaches, is equated with grace, suggesting a moral righteousness to their endeavor. However, the subsequent lines, "only for a few nights, / and then not much, my dreams were blood / my hands were blades and it was murder murder / all over the place," introduce a shift in perspective. The speaker's dreams, filled with blood and murder, suggest a psychological and moral reckoning with the violence of their actions, indicating a loss of innocence and a growing awareness of the complexities of life and death.

"At Last We Killed the Roaches" is a poignant and layered poem that uses the specific and concrete experience of exterminating roaches to explore universal themes of innocence, violence, and the moral ambiguities of survival. Clifton masterfully navigates the fine line between the satisfaction of reclaiming one's space and the unsettling recognition of the violence involved in such acts of cleansing. The poem invites readers to consider the complexities of seemingly simple acts and the profound impact they can have on our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

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