Walking Our Boundaries (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Audre Lorde
- First Published: 1978
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Women, Home, Gardens or gardening, Seasons
One of Lorde's best poems, “Walking Our Boundaries” was written after she was forced to confront her own mortality in a battle with breast cancer. About a walk she shared in the small garden surrounding the house that she and her partner owned, this poem is beautifully narrated and quietly blends symbolism together with deep feeling. The poem begins, “This first bright day has broken/ the back of winter./ We rise from war/ . . . / both stunned that sun can shine so brightly/ after all our pain.”
As the pair cautiously inspects their “joint holding,” they talk of...
[The entire page is 671 words long]
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