wishes for sons

The title of Lucille Clifton’s poem, “wishes for sons,” evokes a sense of positivity when it is divorced from the content of the poem. The verb “to wish” typically has positive connotations, like wishing on birthday candles or a shooting star. However, Line 1 immediately subverts the initial positive connotations of the title as the speaker wishes “cramps” (Line 1), a symptom of physical pain, onto the “sons” the poem is directed towards. Clifton wishes the burdens of bourgeoning womanhood onto sons, young boys that will grow up to be men, in an attempt to foster mutual understanding of the female experience from an early age, therefore creating a more equitable society for children to grow up in (see: Themes).

Stanza 1 details the abrupt end of girlhood as marked by the menstrual cycle. The speaker wishes sons “cramps” (Line 1), “the last tampon” (Line 3), and “strange” surroundings (Line 2) when their period arrives, exemplifying the physical and mental discomfort women and people who menstruate experience as the result of an unexpected period. Clifton’s lines are concise, but her details are specific. “Cramps” (Line 1) indicate the onset of a period. There is an urgency brought on by the fact that there is only one remaining tampon and no convenience store nearby to purchase more (Lines 3, 4). Clifton does not simply wish the large traumas of womanhood onto sons but also the small inconveniences: the invisible, daily annoyances that can impact women.

Stanza 2 exposes the unpredictability of pain associated with menstruation. The speaker introduces a weekly timeline, wishing boys the experience of their period coming “one week early” (Line 5) while wearing “white” (Line 6). Clifton uses the “white skirt” (Line 6) as a symbol of shame (see: Symbols & Motifs), creating an overall feeling of embarrassment within this stanza through the image of the skirt stained with bright red blood. The speaker wishes that the boys will be unprepared. Line 7 juxtaposes Line 5 as the speaker also wishes them “one week late” (Line 7). Worse than the shame of an early period is the fear of it being late. Clifton purposefully uses this line to end Stanza 2 so readers feel its weight, connecting the notion of a late period to an unplanned pregnancy. By mapping female experiences onto male bodies, Clifton exposes how patriarchal notions of shame disadvantage women due to something that is naturally occurring and out of their control.

The speaker of the poem repeats the phrase “I wish them…” (Line 1) five times within the seven lines that make up Stanzas 1 and 2. This figure of speech is called anaphora (see: Literary Devices), and it occurs when the speaker or writer of a poem repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, typically to emphasize an important point. Clifton uses this repetition to overwhelm readers, making them aware of the amount of pain, both large and small, women experience based on sex and gender. Clifton is mostly concerned with the pain that comes from a woman’s own body, but also alludes to the way that body is stigmatized by outside opinions by framing periods as a secret shame, the worst punishment that could be wished on another person.

Stanza 3 transitions readers into the later stages of womanhood. Clifton does not overexplain this transition in time, but rather, uses the singular word “later” (Line 8) to indicate that the poem has moved beyond that of Stanzas 1 and 2. Physical symptoms like “cramps” (Line 1) are replaced with “hot flashes” (Line 8) and “[blood] clots” (Line 9), common indicators of menopause, or the decline and subsequent end of a menstrual cycle. Clifton reveals that the pain related to menstruation does not go away, it simply changes forms. The speaker of the poem again wishes the sons unpredictability, hot flashes when “they / meet someone special” (Lines 11-12) and blood clots coming “when[ever] they want to” (Line 14). Clifton uses the unpredictability of the decline of the menstrual cycle to exemplify how women often feel out of control in their own bodies: at the whims of their unique hormones and cycles. Stanza 3 is the longest of the poem’s four stanzas at seven lines in length. Readers spend more time here, and therefore begin to feel as disoriented as the person experiencing the period symptoms.

In Stanza 4, the speaker confesses that when the sons think they have finally “accepted / arrogance in the universe” (Lines 15-16) and surrendered themselves to the unpredictability of womanhood, they will be brought to “gynecologists / not unlike themselves” (Lines 17-18). The heart of Clifton’s argument lies in this stanza: Men are genuinely ignorant of their own privilege until they witness, firsthand, that same trauma. The introduction of the indifferent and apathetic gynecologist in the second to last line of the poem reinforces the notion that pain related to menstruation does not end; it simply changes forms. Clifton exposes that the lack of control women already feel in their own bodies is amplified when the healthcare providers do not empathize with or understand their struggles (see: Further Reading & Resources), leaving readers even more unsettled than they were at the start of the poem.

All of the pain the speaker wishes onto the sons of the poem is figurative: Clifton knows she cannot alter how men experience puberty; she cannot give them a uterus and actualize pain in their bodies. However, through her skilled use of hyperbole, or exaggeration (see: Literary Devices), Clifton can approximate menstrual and menopausal pain through creative language, offering men and boys a way to walk in her shoes, if only for a moment.