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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lucille Clifton
Lucille Clifton
Lucille Clifton was born in Depew, New York, in 1936. Her books of poetry include Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000 (BOA Editions, 2000), which won the National...
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wishes for sons  
by Lucille Clifton

i wish them cramps.

i wish them a strange town
and the last tampon.
I wish them no 7-11.

i wish them one week early
and wearing a white skirt.
i wish them one week late.

later i wish them hot flashes
and clots like you
wouldn't believe. let the
flashes come when they
meet someone special.
let the clots come
when they want to.

let them think they have accepted
arrogance in the universe,
then bring them to gynecologists
not unlike themselves.



Copyright ©1991 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted from Quilting: Poems 1987-1990 with the permission of BOA Editions, Ltd., 260 East Ave., Rochester, NY 14604.
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