California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: July 14, 2000
jeanne
Susan

This Pass or Prepared? is based on Susan Gold's poem, "Divine Mornings." At p. 127 of Enid Dame, Lilly Rivlin, and Henny Wenkart. Which Lilith? Jason Aronson Inc. Northvale, New Jersey, Jerusalem. 1998.

He once let her breathe deep
into an ear of his apple orchard,
and she could feel his sky's chest sigh.

Lilith knows where God's eyes can be found;
she has kissed them.

And when she wakes
to find the earth's sheets wet with dew,
she knows he still dreams of her.

at p. 127

Read Gold's poem. Think about issues we have discussed in Criminology, Juvenile Justice, Women and Crime, Social Justice:

Answer the following questions based on your reading of this poem:

Click on any question number to see jeanne's answer to that question.

1. Whose perspective does the poem take?

2. In what ways does the woman narrator of the poem reflect positive self esteem?

3. Is there any hint of the "bad" girl image in this poem?

4. How does this poem fit with the "bad" girl image?

5. Is a normative response "right" or "wrong?"

Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata, June 2000. "Fair Use" encouraged.