Quotes by Lucille Clifton

“. . . even when the universe made it quite clear to me that I was mistaken in my certainties, in my definitions, I did not break. The shattering of my sureties did not shatter me. Stability comes from inside, not outside....”

“children/ when they ask you/ why your mama so funny/ say/ she is a poet/ she dont have no sense.”

“Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.”

“i keep hearing / tree talk / water words / and i keep knowing what they mean.”

“People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and thats a mistake. One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.”

You might as well answer the door, my child,the truth is furiously knocking.

wont you celebrate with mewhat i have shaped intoa kind of life? i had no model.born in babylonboth nonwhite and womanwhat did i see to be except myself?i made it uphere on this bridge betweenstarshine and clay,my one hand holding tightmy other hand; come celebratewith me that everydaysomething has tried to kill meand has failed.

the lost womenI need to know their namesthose women I would have walked with,jauntily the way men go in groupsswinging their arms, and the onesthose sweating women whom I would have joinedAfter a hard game to chew the fatwhat would we have called each other laughingjoking into our beer? where are my gangs,my teams, my mislaid sisters?all the women who could have known me,where in the world are their names?

The literature of America should reflect the children of America.

People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and thats a mistake. One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.