Hart is a published writer and former teacher. In this essay, she looks beneath the surface of the characters addressed in Goodison's poem to discover implications regarding more complex layers of meaning.

Goodison's poem “The River Mumma Wants Out” mentions three main types of characters. First is the generic “you,” as addressed by the narrator; second is the River Mumma, a figure from Jamaican folklore; and third are the nurse souls. Who are these characters, essentially? Who might they represent? Does each represent more than one being? These questions may never be answered exactly as the poet had intended, other than by Goodison herself, but in taking the liberty to explore possibilities, readers might find the poem more enriching.

The River Mumma, with whom most of the poem is concerned, is known to come from stories handed down through the ages to try to explain the unexplainable...