Audre Lorde’s poem “Recreation” is simultaneously about sex and writing — the act of love and the act of creating. The title itself suggests doubleness: “recreation” in the sense of play (as in, Parks and) and “recreation” as in the repeated act of creating.
Reciprocity is one of the poem’s themes, as the poet/lover both gives to and takes from writing and her lover. At the same time, writing and sex are reciprocal, too:
moving through our word countries
my body
writes into your flesh
the poem
you make of me.
One of the many things I like about this poem is its specificity; it doesn’t claim a universal love, or generalize about pleasure. It’s about a particular speaker in a particular moment, which is deliberate, given Lorde’s views on the relationships among power, creativity, and the erotic.
Ooh, gave me goosebumps!
Audre Lorde’s poetry is HOT.
I never really thought in depth about the word “recreation” before. Fascinating. Oh, and I love you Carolyn O.
Thank you, dear. I love you too.