Lucille Clifton's Essay 'What The Mirror Said'

Made with love, each person is deserving of love from others as well as from oneself. Unfortunately, humanity is becoming increasingly critical of physical appearances. After years of condemnatory thoughts, people, especially women, forget to remember the beauty in bodies; through this neglect, one doesn’t speak to oneself with adoration or respect. In Lucille Clifton’s poem, “what the mirror said,” self-love is explored through repetition, metaphors, and specific diction. Firstly, Clifton repeats the word “listen” at each break in the poem. “Listen” tends to be a gentle word, a word one might use to talk to a wounded child, allowing a sense of love to form. The poem is a love letter to the author’s self, so using the “listen” implies self-talk