Acceptance Speech is a poem written by Lynn Powell; that is a lyric poem because it does not have a plot however, is not considered poetic in terms of rhyme and rhythm, but in terms of the rich use of poetic elements. Acceptance Speech is about a woman who plays a thankless and an underappreciated role, that uses the sink as her podium where she approaches her speech using a great deal of personification and humor, to convey how downgraded she feels by her family and society. The poem is structured as an enjambment poem as seen in lines (13-14)
“and let me just add that I could not have made it without the marrow bone” these line-breaks creates a structure that is key for adding humor into the poem.
The title of the poem “Acceptance speech” might suggest that the poem is going to be more serious, however it is anything but that, it is instead considered to be ironic and somewhat a sarcastic way to show how mothers are treated. The poem starts off with a radio playing acceptance speeches with “the gratitude of the glamorous” famous people receiving awards and thanking everybody for making this happen. The poem shifts in lines (4-5)
“until I want to shush the faucet, dry my hands , join right here” when the woman, seeming as she has had enough of the “glamorous”, starts to thank her family; her mother, “for teaching me the true meaning of okra” (7) showing that being a housewife and cooking is an ongoing position, and her children “for putting back the growl in hunger”