curling them around
i hold their bodies in obscene embrace
thinking of everything but kinship.
collards and kale
strain against each strange other
away from my kissmaking hand and
the iron bedpot.
the pot is black.
the cutting board is black,
my hand,
and just for a minute
the greens roll black under the knife,
and the kitchen twists dark on its spine
and i taste in my natural appetite
the bond of live things everywhere.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Lucille Clifton's poem Cutting Greens

1 Comment

  1. jaimala sharma says:

    please send the analysis of poems of Lucille Clifton.
    thanku

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