Sexton and Cliftons Abortion Views

February,2006

Ms. B. White

English 193

Short Reaction (Poetry)

These poems both take a different approach in discussing the topic of abortion. In Clifton’s “the lost baby poem” the author takes a subtle approach to the topic. Anne Sexton’s “The Abortion” is very in your face. Even though both poets have a negative view on abortions, Anne Sexton has no problem in clearly expressing he extremely negative opinion on this controversial topic.

Lucille Clifton’s “the lost baby poem” depicts the lifestyle that the aborted child would have endured if it had been conceived. The mother of the baby is not only thinking about the hardships the child would have faced, but she is also describing how she feels about having the abortion. She states that she “watched the baby slip like ice into strangers’ hands” (line 11). This means that she watched strangers kill her baby. With this being said, there is a strong possibility that the narrator of the poem has had an illegal abortion.

Anne