homage to my upper lip

a Lucille Clifton tribute

calm down!

mother told me

i look just like my grandfather

did

when i clench my jaw

when i clench my fists

when i put those lines

in my forehead

 

unwind!

i have a touch

of the hotness

in my irish blood

when they pick on me

when they throw the ‘bows

when they say i can’t

hold my own

 

relax!

mother told me

but she can’t really do anything about it

it’s the same blood that got us here

it’s the same hotness that fought the crowds

it’s the same stiff upper lip

that she’s got

 

Reviews

[[untitled]]

This is wonder ful , i kinda got a laugh at the end though

relax!
mother told me
but she can't really do anything about it
it's the same blood that got us here
it's the same hotness that fought the crowds
it's the same stiff upper lip
that she's got

This is a very well written write, i like this.

[Emily B]

oh, man! did you say a mouthful here . . . I'm a living historian and if you ever heard the stories of life on those ships that brought the enslaved Irish to these shores, or the stories of their lives once they got here . . . then you'd know what I know about that blood that got us here

I like this :)

[Rachael]

i don't quite get what the title means, but i like the poem!

[Peachy]

I like this. The title is misleading, but I understand it.