From next (1988), "female" Summary

This is a poem about the bewildering subject of birth. Women often have babies and don't understand the meaning or power of it, but Clifton reveals it simply, clearly, and beautifully in this poem. Giving birth is a power that women are born with. Women do not have to learn this; it is an "amazon" in women. It is a power that opens women up and makes them strong. Being born female gives women this birthright and it separates women from men so that they have an inherent mystery, which is revealed in a smile.

From next (1988), "female" Analysis

Without coming out and explicating the question, Clifton answers one of the deep and difficult questions of womanhood, a possible source of her power. Inherent in this question are the social and relationship inequities that women...