the leaves believe
such letting go is love
such love is faith
such faith is grace
such grace is god
i agreed with the leaves
Lucille Clifton
I have read a lot of poems by Clifton and she has become on of my favorite poets. Her poems seem clear and easy to understand. It seems like she wants you to get the same feel that she has from the poem and not perceive it differently like a lot of other poets do. She says what she means and whats her audience to see it that way as well. This poem is a little different though from her traditional pro women out look. Clifton also believed that through poetry, audiences could see that "everything is connected" just like she personally believed.
Elizabeth Alexander, a poet who teaches at Yale University, believed Clifton was a brave poet.
"There are some poets who are interested in writing at the edge, and face-to-face with death," she said. "And Clifton is the bravest in that regard." That is exactly how her poem "the lessons of the falling leaves" comes across. I believe that Clifton is relating this "letting go" to death. Death is always a very hard topic to talk about and deal with, and relating it to something as common as leaves letting go gives it a much less intimidating view.
