Audre Lorde - Hanging Fire

Audre Lorde Hanging Fire pg. 520 – 521
This poem hit me as a older man, who still is lost because of his loss of a childhood with his mother. Our childhood memories and especially our parents, offer us a sense of who we are and where we came from. The speaker replies at the end of each stanza, “and momma’s in the bedroom, with the door closed” (pg. 520-521). The speaker starts by talking about his inability to stop sucking on his thumb, which demonstrates the speaker’s ability of repression. As I read on this poem began to read itself, strangely enough to me because I can not make a connection as to where I can see myself in the poem. Nevertheless, the speaker began to ruminate through their mind on what they could become, who they were hand what if they died. All questions that was desire to know yet will never find the answer until that time in history actually comes. Although the main parts of the poem focus on the speakers thoughts and emotions, I feel that the main point in this poem is focused on the absence of the mother. Why is she in her bedroom? Is she an alcoholic? My motivations help me to fill in the spaces and try and complete a full understanding of the wisdom behind the speaker.