Moonchild is a poem about the sexual abuse Lucille Clifton endured as a child. As the moon represents her mom as she would recognize the abuse and try to help Lucille cope with it, but never do anything to stop the abuse. You can see the clear signs of her trying to express her abuse that her father created for her. “jay johnson is teaching / me to french kiss, ella bragged, who / is teaching you? how do you say; my father?”(Moonchild 13-15). When she was only ten years old her father had been sexually abusing her as her friends never realized because she wanted them to not know, she is trying to call for help as she knows way more than a ten year old should. Along with just pointing out abuse she was also pointing out how her mom did
