she realized
she wasn't one
of life's winners
when she wasn't sure
life to her was some dark
dirty secret that
like some unwanted child
too late for an abortion
was to be borne
alone
she had so many private habits
she would masturbate sometimes
she always picked her nose when upset
she liked to sit with silence
in the dark
sadness is not an unusual state
for the black woman
or writers
she took to sneaking drinks
a habit which displeased her
both for its effects
and taste
yet eventually sleep
would wrestle her in triumph
onto the bed
Life Cycles
Nikki Giovanni
(1)
Poem topics: alone, child, silence, sleep, sometimes, woman, dirty, triumph, secret, abortion, taste, black, private, dark, life, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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Kathy Matay: Hello,
We read this poem aloud this morning as part of our "A Poem a Day(ish)" When I went to find it online, your version is the one I found first (thank you!)
In the hardback book version, "The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni," the poem is continued on the next page (pp. 203 - 204). The two additional stanzas are:
she was nervous
when he was there
and anxious
when he wasn't
life to her
was a crude cruel joke
played on the livers
she boxed her life
like a special private seed
planting it in her emotional garden
to see what weeds
would rise
to strangle
her
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