"The Language of the Brag" by Sharon Olds was one of my favorites because the poem created a story from start to finish. I love how she turned a usually negative term into something so endearing and unselfish. This poem shows how having a child can change a woman's life, not just physically, but emotionally.
I noticed how she used first person pronouns throughout the entirety of the poem until the last stanza, she starts using second person, although it isn't towards her baby, but towards two famous poets. After she mentions them, she goes back to first person, which is unusual because usually women would transition their priorities to their new born child. Olds uses this idea of bragging and selfishness to show that bragging isn't all bad, especially when she is finally proud of her accomplishments. Her descriptions of her pregnancy and her birth were vague and she never says it plainly. She states her well being very beautiful and unexpected. Although she complains about her pregnancy and the side effects that come with it, she seems strong and seems as if she is only describing herself more than complaining. Throughout the poem, she says, "I have wanted..." multiple times and continuing that with an activity that she could do with her beautiful body. Once she births her child, she explains, "I have done this thing/I and the other women this exceptional act with the exceptional heroic body..." She realizes that her body can do beautiful things by giving someone life, living for someone else, not just for herself.
This poem is so powerful and moving because this woman loves herself, not in a bad and snobby way, but she is proud of herself and her accomplishments and that is rare to find in a woman.
I agree with your concluding point in your first paragraph. She does indeed realize the amazing things her body can do besides earning the admiration of on-lookers through mundane feats of skill. This poem hooked me because of how similar it is to the way my mother describes pregnancy.
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