A poem & a gift for you--Happy International Women's Day!
Today I am humbled by the women I have met. I am reminded of the women of my birthplace who bent to pick me up, bright saris shading their faces from the strong Bangladesh heat, who taught me as a child that we must greet each other with Peace. I am silent before the women I watched in Kenya, carrying incomprehensibly large loads of firewood on their backs. I am grateful for the nun who stood up during a conference in Seattle and sang so loudly the walls seemed to shake--one voice filling that crowded room. I am thankful to my mother who speaks confidently with power and is a healing presence in this world. And I am honored to reach across the divides of culture to join hands with women who fight every day to build lives of courage and love, who transform the world with creativity, ingenuity, and plain hard work.
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Today
International Women's Day 2017
Today I join hands with you, mama,
as you carry a bundle of firewood high on your strong back.
Teach me how to walk under this burden.
Today I join you, sister,
cutting sheaves of paddy under a blinding sun.
Show me how to shade my face.
Today I open my arms to you, friend,
nursing your daughter in a squalid room.
Here, let me take her for a moment.
To you, in turn, I send my children.
Teach us, mamas, to see the world through your windows.
Show us, sisters, to dance the steps you have learned.
See, I have come here, my daughters with me.
Standing at your doorstep,
we wait to sing with you the song we all learned since birth,
the song of growing strong as trees, powerful as as rivers.
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Now the gift:
In her post for the Missouri Review, Anne Barngrover gives us a great list: 6 Poems Every Woman Needs to Read. Chosen by poets, community activists, editors and more, these are "poems that deserve to be read, that both embolden their readers and bring them to their knees, poems that actually matter."
I would start with the beautiful poem, won't you celebrate with me by African American poet Lucille Clifton. I feel like Clifton is reaching out her hand to clasp mine, asking me to honor women around the world who courageously build empowered lives against all odds.
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Today
International Women's Day 2017
Today I join hands with you, mama,
as you carry a bundle of firewood high on your strong back.
Teach me how to walk under this burden.
Today I join you, sister,
cutting sheaves of paddy under a blinding sun.
Show me how to shade my face.
Today I open my arms to you, friend,
nursing your daughter in a squalid room.
Here, let me take her for a moment.
To you, in turn, I send my children.
Teach us, mamas, to see the world through your windows.
Show us, sisters, to dance the steps you have learned.
See, I have come here, my daughters with me.
Standing at your doorstep,
we wait to sing with you the song we all learned since birth,
the song of growing strong as trees, powerful as as rivers.
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| Women's March, Seattle, January 2017 |
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Now the gift:
In her post for the Missouri Review, Anne Barngrover gives us a great list: 6 Poems Every Woman Needs to Read. Chosen by poets, community activists, editors and more, these are "poems that deserve to be read, that both embolden their readers and bring them to their knees, poems that actually matter."
I would start with the beautiful poem, won't you celebrate with me by African American poet Lucille Clifton. I feel like Clifton is reaching out her hand to clasp mine, asking me to honor women around the world who courageously build empowered lives against all odds.
what did i see to be except myself?
And from there, you really can't go wrong. Louise Gluck, Sharon Olds, Emily Dickinson are among the chosen. Enjoy!
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