won't you celebrate with me Summary

The speaker opens the poem by asking readers whether they will join her in celebrating, since she has managed to shape her circumstances into something resembling a full life, though she didn't have anything to model this life on. She was born in "Babylon"—a biblical reference meaning that she was born in lonely or oppressive circumstances. To be specific, she was not white and was a woman, two identities that put her at a disadvantage. She made up her life in the bridgelike space between the worldly and the celestial, her hands clasping one another. Again, she invites the reader to celebrate, reasoning that they should celebrate because every day something has tried to kill her and she has survived.