"Women" By Adrienne Rich
My three sisters are sitting
on rocks of black obsidian.
For the first time, in this light, I can see who they are.
My first sister is sewing her costume for the procession.
She is going as the Transparent lady
and all her nerves will be visible.
My second sister is also sewing,
at the seam over her heart which has never healed entirely,
At last, she hopes, this tightness in her chest will ease.
My third sister is gazing
at a dark-red crust spreading westward far out on the sea.
Her stockings are torn but she is beautiful.
I had a test today in Modern Poetry and what I love about this poem is how broken it shows women. It shows what men have done to women and it causes men to sympathize and then look at themselves in the "black obsidian." It's subtle yet extremely critical. However, it isn't hopeless, the last line ends on a sense of empowerment and resolution.
Link:
Adrienne Rich on Wikipedia
