won’t you celebrate with me

By Lucille Clifton

won’t you celebrate with me

what i have shaped into

a kind of life? i had no model.

born in babylon

both nonwhite and woman

what did i see to be except myself?

I made it up

here on this bridge between

starshine and clay,

my one hand holding tight

my other hand; come celebrate

with me that everyday

something has tried to kill me

and has failed.

This poem was sent to me by my sister-in-law. I found it to be such a beautiful description of what it means to be black, a woman, an immigrant in a society where your power and voice are limited. Beautiful because it is so movingly stated, also uplifting because it shows the resilience

of the human spirit, but also sad because judging others in this way harms us all.

We do not get to choose the circumstances of our birth or how others treat us because of those circumstances. We do get to choose how we treat others who may be different or not as fortunate as us. Hopefully, in our interactions with our fellow human beings, we choose kindness, empathy, and

love.

In 1979, Lucille Clifton became the second woman and the first African American to serve as Maryland’s Poet Laureate. She held this position until 1982. In addition to numerous books of poetry, Clifton wrote almost 20 children’s books. To learn more about Lucille Clifton, click here.