Poetry Notes - Mrs-claassen.co.za

Perfectly voiceless,
widen the crannies,
shoulder through holes. We
= small opening. In the same way, women must not be deterred by
obstacles, but must push through the barriers in a focused and determined
way, and not allow themselves to be distracted from the task by other stimuli
(“earless and eyeless, perfectly voiceless”).
diet on water, Mushrooms don’t require special soil types or organic feeds (“asking little or
on crumbs of shadow,
bland-mannered, asking
Little or nothing.
So many of us!
So many of us!
nothing”). They just grow in an un-fussy manner (“bland-mannered”). Bland
= mild / plain. This is in contrast to other plants that require specialized
care. So what is she saying? Generally, men have much bigger egos than
women, and these egos need to be stroked. This leads to all sorts of
nonsense. Women, generally speaking, don’t have the same ‘ego’ needs.
This is an advantage.
Repeating the line “so many of us!” is the perfect way to emphasize how
many “of us” there are.
We are shelves, we are This stanza speaks of practical uses for mushrooms because women are
tables, we are meek,
we are edible,
practical. They are homemakers, providers, nurturers.
nudgers and shovers The poet has been very complementary towards women so far. However,
in spite of ourselves.
she acknowledges that women can be quite competitive, especially with
each other (“nudgers and shovers”). Nudge = push aside. She says that
this is “in spite of ourselves”, in other words, women ought to know better
but they still try to outdo each other.
Our kind multiplies: It’s rare to see one mushroom growing. They usually grow in groups.
Likewise, the enlightenment of women is spreading (“our kind multiplies”).
we shall by morning
Night = a time of darkness. Morning = the coming of light; the dawn of an
inherit the earth.
new day. After centuries of oppression, gender equality will finally become
our foot’s in the door.
a reality (“inherit the earth”). It is happening already (“our foot’s in the
door”).