The poem Homage to My Hips by Lucille Clifton has a very interesting speaker. I imagine her to be a strong, confident woman who is proud of her appearance and admires her body immensely. She is about 32 years old, and, in my imagination, she has a beautiful name that sounds like a name of a flower. I would prefer not to create a specific name for her, though, because that would mean that I defined her in some way, and she would not like that. She is never influenced by the common or ‘trendy’ beauty standards, and she loves every part of her body just the way it is (Clifton, n.d.). Her appearance is not an example of what people would call “conventional beauty”, but she is attractive and popular among men. She has short dark hair and big brown eyes and is a little overweight.
She has a lifestyle of a creative, open-minded person, and works as a journalist. Her honesty and straightforwardness can be seen in her work and writing style. She is interested in many things, but all of them are somehow connected with art. Paintings, music, and literature are very important to her and she pays significant attention to other people’s tastes. She believes that the person’s tastes and interests can tell many things about them. She may seem quite adamant in that sense, and it is difficult to become close friends with her.
She is always the life of the party; she does not like righteous and sanctimonious people, and whenever she encounters them, she likes to get into dispute. However, she does not argue in an aggressive, self-involved way; she mocks people in a manner that is ultimately harmless, but her jokes and taunts always have a ring of the truth. This can make some people uncomfortable, but she does not seem to care about it. She likes to make people discomfited, to shock them even, because she believes that many people these days are shocked by the wrong things such as swear words or eccentric outfits. She does not tolerate any manifestation of injustice and discrimination, and believes that this is what should indeed astonish people, making them fight for the right values and principles.
She has a brilliant mind and a sharp tongue; many people find her character difficult to deal with, but at the same time exceptionally interesting. Due to her strong personality, she has had difficulties in relationships with men, as they often feel threatened by her power and confidence. She does not have a husband or children, but she is very close with her parents and visits them every weekend. She has never been in a long-term relationship, but always encourages others to love themselves and never compromise on things that are important to them. She has a strong sense of self, but she has vulnerabilities as well. For example, she puts other people’s interests and priorities over her own ones if those people are important to her.
In addition, although she does tend to express her emotions and feelings openly, sometimes she tries to hide them in order not to seem too weak or vulnerable. While it may not seem like that, but, like all people, she does have fears. What makes her different from others is the fact that she always faces those fears and problems that life throws at her with her head held high. She hates being pitied and sees failure as an opportunity to grow and become stronger.
Reference
Clifton, L. (n.d.). Homage to my hips. Poetry Foundation. Web.