Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Sorrows" by Lucille Clifton is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of the nature of suffering and its indelible impact on the human condition. Through metaphorical language and vivid imagery, Clifton personifies sorrows as winged entities, capable of beauty yet paradoxically drawn to humans with whom they form an inextricable bond. This poem, reflective of Clifton’s broader oeuvre, delves into themes of pain, desire, and the universal experience of suffering, articulating a profound understanding of the complexities of human emotions and the ways in which they shape our lives.

The opening lines, "who would believe them winged / who would believe they could be / beautiful," immediately challenge conventional perceptions of sorrows. By attributing beauty and the power of flight to sorrows, Clifton suggests a reevaluation of their role in our lives, proposing that there is a form of grace in the endurance of pain. This perspective invites readers to reconsider their own experiences of suffering, not merely as burdens but as elements of their existence that can lead to growth and deeper understanding.

Clifton's portrayal of sorrows as entities that "fall so in love with mortals" that they willingly bind themselves to us "as scars attach and ride the skin" evokes the idea that suffering is not just an external force inflicted upon us but something that becomes part of our very being. The comparison of sorrows to scars is particularly potent, as scars serve as permanent reminders of past pains, experiences that have shaped us, and moments that have left an indelible mark on our lives.

The poem then shifts to the intimate and personal, with the speaker recounting how they hear sorrows in their dreams, "rattling their skulls clicking / their bony fingers." This imagery conjures a sense of the inescapability of sorrow, its persistence, and its haunting presence in our most private moments. The speaker’s plea, whispered "into my own / cupped hands enough not me again," reveals a moment of vulnerability and desperation, a desire to be spared from further pain.

Yet, Clifton ends the poem on a note of resignation and recognition of the collective human experience of desire and suffering. The rhetorical question, "but who can distinguish / one human voice / amid such choruses / of desire?" underscores the universality of suffering and the shared longing for relief among all people. It suggests that our individual pleas for respite are part of a larger, collective yearning, a chorus of human voices each beseeching to be freed from the grip of sorrow.

"Sorrows" is a profound meditation on the complexities of suffering and its integral place in the human experience. Through her characteristic economy of language and depth of insight, Lucille Clifton invites readers to reflect on the beauty and pain of their sorrows, recognizing them as inherent parts of life that connect us to one another in our shared vulnerability. The poem stands as a testament to Clifton's ability to illuminate the most profound truths of human existence, urging us to confront and perhaps find solace in the understanding that sorrow, in its beauty and burden, is a universal condition that binds us all.

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