Be Nobody's Darling Poem by Alice Walker

Be Nobody's Darling

Rating: 3.0


Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.
Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.
Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

But be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Leslie Philibert 05 April 2015

Not impressive for me, but I know little about her other work.

8 20 Reply
Sreelekha Premjit 21 March 2012

a wonderful assertion of the self, madam. Loved reading it. A self pat is one of my poems with a similar feel.

17 4 Reply
Patricia Grantham 15 October 2014

A very deep and moving write. Don't succumb to everything that comes your way. Be yourself. Good.

7 3 Reply
Brittany Fletcher 06 June 2021

I love it 💙

0 0 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 22 October 2020

Watch the people succumb To madness With ample cheer; Let them look askance at you And you askance reply. a very fine poem. tony

2 2 Reply
helen 28 February 2018

wow that was really bad hhahaha just jokeing it amazing

4 4 Reply
Alice Walker 08 March 2019

Thank you Helen.

2 1
Susan Williams 25 January 2016

I like her crusading spirit and her equally novel writing style. I do not totally agree with her here if she means to put one's self above all else. I do agree if she means to reach your own conclusions both before and after reading and listening to the views of others. I am, however, a fan of her poetry!

32 3 Reply
Terry Craddock 06 April 2015

As a self proclaimed self confessed self motivated outcast, contradictions in stones have bounced off my head lined rivers and filled oceans of tears shed in joy and pain, the lone wolf howling in the wilderness knows its place and purpose, we honour tides and rivers of the moon.

11 2 Reply
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Alice Walker

Alice Walker

Eatonton Georgia
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