16 pages • 32 minutes read
Lucille CliftonThe Lost Baby Poem
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1987A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
"the mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks (1945)
Gwendolyn Brooks’s controversial poem “the mother” explores the feelings and repercussions of a woman who has had multiple abortions. The poem was written and published 30 years before women were guaranteed the right to a safe abortion in the United States. Much like Clifton’s poem, “the mother” is an apostrophe, written in dedication to her aborted children.
"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes (1922)
Langston Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son,” describes a lecture a mother would give to her son about perseverance and hope. The mother describes her difficult life and the painful obstacles she has faced, attempting to turn her struggles into a lesson of inspiration and encouragement for her son. With a central metaphor of a staircase, the poem touches on themes of racial inequality, poverty, and trauma.
"won’t you celebrate with me" by Lucille Clifton (1993)
Published and written many years after “the lost baby poem,” Clifton’s poem “won’t you celebrate with me” takes on a very different tone—one of victory and pride. The poem celebrates the speaker’s accomplishments as a Black woman and the many obstacles she has overcome. The poem is an ode to the speaker’s crafting a beautiful life against all odds, even death.
Further Literary Resources
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
Toni Morrison’s most famous novel Beloved follows a woman who, in an attempt to save her baby from slavery, killed the child and buried her under a tombstone with the inscription “Beloved,” as she could not afford any additional words. One day after many years, the dead child returns as a ghost and begins living in her house. The story follows the mother and her youngest living daughter as they attempt to coexist with the ghost, known as Beloved, and cope with the trauma of the past.
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde (1984)
Sister Outsider is a collection of 15 essays and speeches tackling sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and classism. The collection proposes social difference as a vehicle for socio-political change and action. Although incisive and unflinching, Lorde’s prose is lyrical, evocative, and ultimately hopeful in the face of so much oppression. Often required reading for Literary Theory and Women and Gender studies classes at the university level, the collection explores many of the issues women of color face.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)
Maya Angelou’s most celebrated and renowned autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings recalls the life and childhood of the poet and author. The memoir, depicting both deep pain and profound joy, details a young Angelou’s experience growing up in a small southern town facing racial and class prejudice, and later, sexual violence. Years later, Angelou discovers her love for literature and the power words have to set her free.
Listen to Poem
Poet Lucille Clifton reads aloud her 1987 poem “the lost baby poem.”
Related Titles
By Lucille Clifton
