poem in praise of menstruation
if there is a river
more beautiful than this
bright as the blood
red edge of the moon if
there is a river
more faithful than this
returning each month
to the same delta if there
is a river
braver than this
coming and coming in a surge
of passion, of pain if there is
a river
more ancient than this
daughter of eve
mother of cain and of abel if there is in
the universe such a river if
there is some where water
more powerful than this wild
water
pray that it flows also
through animals
beautiful and faithful and ancient
and female and brave
Lucille Clifton, "poem in praise of menstruation" from The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton. Copyright © 2000 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted by permission of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.
Source: The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton (BOA Editions Ltd., 1991)