7 Must-Read Alice Walker Poems

Alice Walker is an American poet who was born in Georgia in 1944. She is known as a novelist, poet, short-story writer, and a social activist. Her best-known work, The Color Purple, won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She wrote her first book of poems while studying in East Africa and has since become an important piece of fiction in the feminist and civil rights movement.

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Poem at Thirty-Nine

‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’ by Alice Walker describes the speaker’s father’s life. She admits how much she misses him and how she wishes he hadn’t had such a hard life.

Alice Walker is a well-known American writer and poet who often writes about family, love, and personal experiences. ‘Poem at Thirty-Nine’ is a heartfelt piece where she remembers her father, expressing both love and sadness. While she is most famous for her novel ‘The Color Purple,’ this poem stands out for its emotional depth. It may not be her most popular poem, but it is deeply meaningful and personal.

How i miss my father.

I wish he had not been

so tired

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Be Nobody’s Darling

Alice Walker’s ‘Be Nobody’s Darling’ champions individuality, urging us to embrace our unique paths and find strength in standing alone.

Be nobody’s darling;

Be an outcast.

Take the contradictions

Of your life

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Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

‘Blessed are the Poor in Spirit’ highlights empathy and unity as remedies for spiritual poverty, urging collective healing.

Did you ever understand this?

If my spirit was poor, how could I enter heaven?

Was I depressed?

Understanding editing,

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Expect Nothing

Alice Walker’s ‘Expect Nothing’ advises living simply, embracing life’s surprises, and finding joy in self-reliance and inner fulfillment.

Expect nothing. Live frugally

On surprise.

become a stranger

To need of pity

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We Alone

In this famous poem ‘We Alone’, Alice Walker reveals the power within each human heart, and the power we have together when united in purpose.

We alone can devalue gold

by not caring

if it falls or rises

in the marketplace.

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When You Thought Me Poor

‘When You Thought Me Poor’ critiques how society only values individuals after they surpass racial and economic hurdles.

When you thought me poor,

my poverty was shaming.

When blackness was unwelcome

we found it best

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Women

‘Women’ is a short poem praising previous generations of African American women who fought for the education of girls.

They were women then

My mama’s generation

Husky of voice—stout of

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Poem at Thirty-Nine

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