Both Margaret Atwood and Lucille Clifton's poems personify a part of the human body; the former personifies the heart, while the later gives her hips a sassy personality.
In "The Woman Who Could Not Live With Her Faulty Heart", Atwood describes the heart as a third eye living inside her; a person who cries "I want" and "I don't want". While she sleeps the heart keeps watch, yet never informs her of what's passed in her sleep. Her heart is a "constant pestering." It's almost like her heart is a metaphor for a small child that can't be put to rest after a long day of play. The last line reads "One night I will say to it: Heart, be still, and it will." It appears that the author has come to terms with the fact that her heart will never give her any rest until it is time for her to die and it beats no more.
Since we live in a society that constantly preaches diets and obtaining slimness, it's interesting to see a poem about "big hips." "Homage to My Hips" embraces the curves of the female body, even giving the hips a personality of their own. These hips seem fearless and determined: "they don't like to be held back." Clifton claims they are "magic" and "mighty." Her confidence in herself and in her body is evident in the last two lines where she brags her hips have been know "to put a spell on a man and spin him like a top!" Unlike Atwood, Clifton has no complaints in her poem.
Both Clifton at Atwood are successful at representing the female body. Just like a real female standing in front of a mirror, these poems together offer both criticism and praise towards the body.
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