...My woman's eye is weak
And veiled with milk;
My working eye is muscled
With a curious tension,
Stretched and open
As the eyes of children;
Trusting in its vision
Even should it see
The holy holy spirit gambol
Counterheadwise,
Lithe and warm as any animal...
In "Lens" Anne Wilkinson portrays a woman trying to reconcile her sex with her career choice. Her divided identity is symbolized in the imagery of her eye: her woman's eye is "weak", while her professional eye is "muscled". Ironically, she feels that she is unworthy of creating poetry because of her ability to create life. Poetry is denied for her because she is a woman and a mother. The first section of the poem, told through the vantage point of an eye, concerns motherhood, while the second half, seen through a camera lens, concentrates on her career.