Hill is the author of a poetry collection, has published widely in literary journals, and is an editor for a university publications department. In the following essay, Hill suggests that the mother's feelings toward the daughter in this poem are a positive reaction to the poet's negative and hurtful relationship with her own mother.

Critics and readers in general widely accept that Audre Lorde's poetry provides a strong voice for black women everywhere and for all women with feminist views and/or a lesbian lifestyle. Arguably, her work is both staunchly political and direly personal as she addresses the issues of women's and gay rights, as well as the battle with cancer that would take her life decades after she began to write. But these subjects, vital as they are, do not define the real heart of Lorde's creative inspirations as a poet. Her work often explores...