Analysis: Woman Work a poem by Maya Angelou

Woman Work

a poem by

Maya Angelou

I've got the children to tend

The clothes to mend

The floor to mop

The food to shop

Then the chicken to fry

The baby to dry

I got company to feed

The garden to weed

I've got shirts to press

The tots to dress

The can to be cut

I gotta clean up this hut

Then see about the sick

And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine

Rain on me, rain

Fall softly, dewdrops

And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here

With your fiercest wind

Let me float across the sky

'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes

Cover me with white

Cold icy kisses and

Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky

Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone

Star shine, moon glow

You're all that I can call my own.

Analysis

These days, feminism has been a hot issue. A number of women declare themselves as feminists. They want to be treated as equal as men. They want to choose their own life path without allowing others on the decision-making. They want to pursue their dreams. Also, they do not want to be drawn into society’s stereotype that women are intended to get married after finishing their school life then give their dedication only for her husband and children.

Nowadays, women are more vocal on their thoughts. They are not shy to express what’s on their mind. They do not bothered by what others think about them. They do whatever they want to do without worrying anything. In many workplace settings that usually dominate by men, today we can see a lot of women are able to do the jobs as well. Women today have high courage to do any job.

However, although in many settings women can pursue their dreams, there is still controversy about gender equality in term of work. Recently, there was a conflict that attracted people’s attention. It was about Hanung Bramantio’s, a respectable director in Indonesian film industry, tweet told about how his views on actors and actresses. Hanung said that it is easier to find actresses than actors. As long as she has beauty, a woman can be an actress. He gave highlight that it is difficult to find an actor as there are a lot of requirements for an actor to be accepted by the moviegoers. An actor must be skillful and have a charm. Hanung’s statement leaded to some protest by women, especially Hannah Al Rasyid, an actress and woman activist. Hannah, of course, totally disagreed with Hanung’s statement. Hannah thought that Hanung was doing violation on gender issue. She argued that actress also work hard when filming. Besides work ethic, she is sure enough that actresses also have talent on acting. No matter what the gender is, whether male or female, everyone must get respect he/or she deserved.

The issue of gender also appears on the poem I read recently. The poem was written by Maya 

Angelou entitle ‘Woman work’. It tells about a single mother who is a great juggler that works for earning money and also doing another ‘work’ taking care of her children. Although the poem conveys the issue of gender, otherwise it brings another spirit of woman power. In this poem, the power is not intended to fight for equality but it is because the character needs to do so.

The poem tells about the life of a hardworking single mother. She works day and night to fulfill her family’s need. She works for earning money. When she finished working outside, she then went back home and did household job. It is described in line 2-6 that she tended to mop the floor, cook and take care of her baby. She also has to take care of her other older children and her children did not care with her condition. It is also revealed in line 12 that she stays in a hut. Every moment of the woman’s life is spent in serving to others, and when at last she is done at the end of a long and exhausting day, all she left is the natural world surrounding her: sun, sky, mountain and stone, stars and moonlight.

These last four stanzas are all about finding comfort and free, stolen moments of peace from the monotonous and never ending routine of her daily life. Nature is the source of this woman’s strength.

I can feel what the protagonist feels in this poem. It shows that a woman has a double job or even more jobs. A woman tends to juggle in several roles, for instance, as a mother and as a worker who works for living. The jobs are not easy and it needs strength. It seems like she has no time to pause between her various household chores and another work. This is also the things that I face as a woman. My mother always reminds me that I must do good things at school and also I must know my responsibility as a woman. I must be able to cook, to clean my room, to wash the dishes, to wash the clothes and so on. In addition, this poem also taught about how to be an independent woman because the protagonist character in this poem is figured out as a single mother who did many works for her family. No matter what happens in her life, she will work to provide for her children.

Here, I can conclude that the poem represent how women are struggling really hard to live her life. She does not declare herself as a feminist. She only believes on what she reckons to be true. Some women do not really concern to fight for equality. However, they prefer to focus more on their works and run their life. Moreover, the woman character in Maya Angelou poem shows her strength by working alone without a husband. Although it is hard she can overcome it. In addition, I would like to say my view about this issue. In my opinion, sometimes it is better to focus more on our work. As long as no one impedes our career, we do not need to wrangle with equality. We only need to struggle on everything that we do and do not hear bad comments, unless those comment give positive impact. Women are born with special power to defeat obstacles in life. Women are warm, gentle and strong at the same time. 

Anis Nur Fatimah