"B" (If I Should Have a Daughter)

The theme of overcoming adversity is present in several parts of the poem and serves as a warning for the daughter about what she will have to endure in life. For instance, the speaker states that “life will hit you / hard, / in the face” (Lines 6-8), and it will wait for her to stand again “just so it can kick you in the stomach” (Line 9). The comparison of life’s struggles to physical blows demonstrates the power of adversity, as well as its ability to deeply affect a person. However, the poem reminds the girl that having the wind knocked out of her is the only way to remember how much her lungs “like the taste of air” (Line 10), illustrating a framing of the world that characterizes adversity as something that can be overcome, and something that adds value to life. The poem goes on to state that there is hurt that cannot be fixed with Band-Aids or poetry, and that the girl’s hands will be “too small to catch all the pain” she wants to heal (Line 15). These warnings imply that some things in life will affect the daughter profoundly and will not have simple solutions.