Carolyn Forché Poems

Carolyn Forché was born in 1950 in Michigan and is known for writing on some of the most important events of the twentieth-century. She has been compared to writers like Pablo Neruda and Philip Levine. But, she is best-known for coining the term “poetry of witness” and for writing about the difficulties inherent in politically engaged writing. 

Taking Off My Clothes

by Carolyn Forché

‘Taking Off My Clothes’ by Carolyn Forché is a short, effective poem about a relationship. The speaker spends the lines uses imagery to define the various aspects of her partner and herself. 

I take off my shirt, I show you.

I shaved the hair out under my arms.

I roll up my pants, I scraped off the hair   

on my legs with a knife, getting white.

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