Adrienne Rich

"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"
Adrienne Rich
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

This poem by Adrienne Rich addresses many issues but the main issue addressed would be women and feminism. The poem is about a woman who's life is dominated by the man in her life. Everything she owns is still his, for example, "The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band" demonstrates that it is the man dictating her marriage because she refers to her ring as his property. Also, I'm not positive that the tigers in this poem are, but I am sure that they are Aunt Jen's and only Aunt Jen's. I think when the speaker says that once Aunt Jen dies "the tigers...will go on prancing, proud and unafraid" this shows that Aunt Jennifer's property can only be free and hers, once she is free of her marriage--so when she's dead. I enjoyed this poem because it wasn't too hard to grasp the meaning and I'm always a sucker for a good rhyme scheme.