It was a dream

in which my greater self
rose up before me
accusing me of my life
with her extra finger
whirling in a gyre of rage
at what my days had come to.
what,
i pleaded with her, could i do,
of what could i have done?
as she twisted her wild hair
and sparked her wild eyes
and screamed as long as
i could hear her
This. This. This.
- Lucille Clifton
In psychology they say that people either dream in symbols or they dream events based on what has happened in their life. Im guessing that Clifton is dealing with some guilt in her life. It sounds like the person she is talking about is her conscience. The lines in which my greater self rose up before me accusing me of my life... makes me think that she is dealing with a lot of guilt over something she has done and her conscience is helping her deal with it and possibly helping her to set it right.
The structure of this poem is very strange. There isnt capital letters at the begining. the two parts are broken by one word what, I think that the reason this poem is structured this way is so that more emphaisis is placed through out this poem.