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I need an explanation for what Grace Nichols is trying to say in the following stanzas from her poem "We the Women":

We the women who cut
clear fetch dig sing

We the women making
something from this
ache-and-pain-a-me
back-o-hardness

These two phrases in bold are what I have trouble with and need explaining.

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  • What do you need help with, exactly? What sort of information are you looking for? – Ash Oct 19 '18 at 5:07
  • @Ash i need help with an explanation of the poem. what is she saying in each line? – chad2001 Oct 19 '18 at 13:39
  • Regarding an analysis of the poem, it would be best if you edit your question to explain what your initial thoughts are, and detail the specific elements you don't understand. It's a powerful poem, but not that complex. You could start by looking at the sentinel word "yet" (why was this used?) and consider why the clause starting with the next three words is left unfinished (no verb or complement). – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica Oct 19 '18 at 22:10
  • Asking for an interpretation of the second of the two lines is fair enough, but what is unclear in the first line? Please tell us exactly what needs explanation here, as the words all have an obvious and simple meaning. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica Oct 20 '18 at 7:00
  • BTW, I don't know why all elements of my earlier edit (including format, reference link, and relevant tags) were rejected, but please fix the spelling error you've introduced into the question title. And for Lit.SE users interested in some context, the full poem can be found here. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica Oct 20 '18 at 7:08

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