Mother, A Cradle to Hold Me

There is an extra layer of complexity between a mother and her daughter based on identity factors, i.e., what elements of her mother the daughter finds in herself and how that makes her feel. Even though Angelou’s poem is universal and the speaker is gender neutral, the reader might logically place a daughter in the speaker’s role, given Angelou’s autobiographical connection to the content. The speaker of the poem mentions this desire for identification with her mother: “But I did hold you securely in my sight, / Recording every moment, / Memorizing your smiles, tracing your frowns" (Lines 40-42). Knowing that her mother’s tenderness and affection could be passed down comforts the speaker: “When you put your fingers on my hand / And your hand on my arm, / I was blessed with a sense of health, / Of strength and very good fortune” (Lines 51-54). The speaker even goes so far as to say: “You were always / the heart of happiness to me” (Lines 55-56). The intensity of this positive identification with the mother contrasts with the opposite but equally intense approach the teenage speaker takes with her mother: “I spoke sharply of you, often / Because you were slow to understand” (Lines 65-66). Just as quickly as the mother brings her joy, she suddenly is not enough. However, the speaker acknowledges that despite her outward demeanor, there was still love: “When you knew nothing / And I knew everything, I loved you still” (Lines 60-61). Towards the end of the poem, the speaker acknowledges the emotional turmoil and contradictions she faced and put her mother through and tries to recapture the connection she once had with her: “I grew older and / Was stunned to find / How much knowledge you had gleaned” (Lines 67-69).