Thursday, April 3, 2008

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
From Saundra: If the news gets you down... if your friends aren't living up to your expectations, if you have experienced a hardship, if just want to know if you can undo what's been done...
realize, know, internalize, that you too... will rise.

6 comments:

  1. Saundra,
    Thank you for the words to think about.

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  2. What a great way to start the day!

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  3. I will make that my motto....

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  4. Charmed... you should... I thought of you when I posted it.

    I still have your surprise.

    Ladies... Maya Angelou is the poet of my heart. Buy her books, you will NOT be disappointed.

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  5. So Eliquent and so true. It speaks for every mother, don't you think. Sandra your style of writing is much like hers.

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  6. I will take that as the most fantastic compliment imaginable as far as writing goes.

    She is hands down my favorite poet.

    ReplyDelete

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