“hanging fire”
by audre lorde

i am fourteen
and my skin has betrayed me
the boy i cannot live without
still sucks his thumb
in secret
how come my knees are
always so ashy
what if i die
before the morning comes
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

i have to learn how to dance
in time for the next party
my room is too small for me
suppose i die before graduation
they will sing sad melodies
but finally
tell the truth about me
there is nothing i want to do
and too much
that has to be done
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

nobody even stops to think
about my side of it
i should have been on math team
my marks were better than his
why do i have to be
the one
wearing braces
i have nothing to wear tomorrow
will i live long enough
to grow up
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

source: lorde, audre. “hanging fire.” the black unicorn: poems. new york: kitchen table: women of color press, 1978. el camino college. web. 06 june 2011.

which poetic techniques are illustrated in the opening lines “i am fourteen/and my skin has betrayed me/the boy i cannot live without/still sucks his thumb/in secret”?

alliteration and metaphor

allusion and alliteration

apostrophe and simile

personification and enjambment

personification and enjambment

Personification refers to a rhetorical device in which the author gives human characteristics to nonhuman entities, such as animals, objects, natural phenomena or abstract concepts. In this case, the author uses personification when she says: "my skin has betrayed me."

Enjambment refers to the incomplete syntax at the end of a sentence. This means that the meaning of a sentence runs from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation. The author uses enjambment in this excerpt, as the meaning of the sentences run from one line to the next.

c) problem and solution

for me, i'd go with (c) satisfied or (b) overjoyed because if you read it a couple of times, it makes since that it is c or b. it can't b (a) angry because booker was never angry about anything. at the end of the paragraph, booker states, "i think there are not many men in our country who have had the privilege of naming themselves in the way that i " i think that sentence kind of gives away the also, some words in the paragraph can also you like for example, "indulged," "calmly," "perplexity," "privilege," and defining words that you don't know, can you understand more of that paragraph and it can also increase your comprehension. : )

i'm really rally sorry if i'm incorrect, but if i'm hope this ! : )