Women

“The Nature of This Flower Is to Bloom” by Alice Walker (1973)

This poem from Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems could be considered a sequel to “Women” because it speaks of “blooming gloriously” (Line 6), which the women of Walker’s generation could do because her mother’s generation made sacrifices. “The Nature of This Flower Is to Bloom” is a short poem that utilizes lines with only a few powerful words to express itself, quite similar to the form of “Women.”

“Be Nobody’s Darling” by Alice Walker (1973)

Like “Women,” “Be Nobody’s Darling” is from Walker’s Revolutionary Petunias and Other Poems collection. The poem repeatedly encourages the reader to “be an outcast” (Line 2). This call to individuality evokes a similar theme in “Women,” in which the women of Walker’s mother’s generation went against their traditional roles to make change for future generations.

“When You Thought Me Poor” by Alice Walker (2010)

This celebrated poem shows the journey of the speaker from poverty to comfortable living by “dreaming and hard work” (Line 7), which the women of Walker’s mother’s generation wanted for the next generation in “Women.” Alongside the theme of classicism is racism, as the speaker of this poem states that her Blackness has remained the same but societal attitudes toward race have wavered and shifted. Walker knew of the societal obstacles her mother’s generation faced, which makes her admiration apparent for the women in the “Women” poem and for herself in “When You Thought Me Poor.”

“Mothers” by Nikki Giovanni (1972)

A contemporary of Alice Walker’s, also a Black female poet and activist, Giovanni pens a poem that places the speaker in admiration of her mother, much like “Women” does. In “Mothers,” the speaker mentions her mother wanting to teach her a poem, which the speaker then shares with her son, expressing the generational cycle of knowledge and lineage that is also apparent within Walker’s “Women.”

“Lineage” by Margaret Walker (1989)

Margaret Walker, a Southern Black female writer, won a prize for her first collection of poetry around the time Alice Walker was born. Similar to “Women” paying respect to Alice’s mother’s generation, “Lineage” pays homage to Margaret’s grandmother’s generation and their mental and physical strength. While Alice’s mom was a sharecropper, Margaret’s grandmother was a slave, both generations showing the tumultuous road toward freedom and justice.

“Mother, A Cradle To Hold Me” by Maya Angelou (2006)

Southern Black female author and activist Maya Angelou writes a poem of gratitude about her early days with her mother. Angelou’s lines “I did not dream that you had / A large life which included me” (Lines 13-14) bring forth Walker’s similar reverence for her own mother’s sacrifice for her. In both poems, the speaker’s mothers are able to see beyond themselves, in essence, a bright, bold future for their daughters.