won’t you celebrate with me

March is Women’s History Month. It is doubly tragic, then, to view the images of pregnant women carried from Mariupol Children’s Hospital after the air strike on Wednesday March 9. Let’s turn to the words of Lucille Clifton, whose poem ends on a note of unshakable strength.

With gratitude to Our Break Room Intern Myles Ringel for selecting this poem.

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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.