"Homage to my hips," while short, is incredibly impactful. It opens with Clifton boldly, proudly, and without hesitation declaring that she has big hips—and she is proud of them. She asserts that her hips are powerful and "mighty" and says that because of them, she is powerful and mighty.
As the poem progresses, Clifton talks more about what her hips mean and the sense of autonomy they give her. Clifton says that her hips move on their own; they go wherever they want and do whatever they want, too. Like her hips, Clifton feels free to do whatever she wants as a woman with her own agency and freedom, which is unshackled by societal expectations or judgments. Not only that, but her hips are also not confined by anything. They can't be held back or squeezed into uncomfortable situations.
Towards the end, Clifton declares that her hips have never been "enslaved," thereby invoking the history of African American enslavement and the resilience and resistance of those who endured it. Her hips are symbolic not only of autonomy but of a collective historical memory.
