Sometimes there are people who are famous for their good souls. People who you feel like you know personally, people that touch your spirit and make you feel comfortable in their presence even if it is through a television.
Then they leave us on earth and we don’t know how to mourn because even though we haven’t met them we don’t know how to let go, because they are so much apart of your life, your upbringing, your fabric.
Maya Angelou was a special spirit. One of those people that could see things how they were and convey them to us in amazing poetry and books. Wisdom poured out of her constantly like a never ending river and we were lucky enough to dip a toe in her wonderful teachings. Maya Angelou’s words raised me and brought me joy and clarity. My mom made me memorize I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and I still remember the power and beauty of that amazing poem.
A little known fact about me is that I was really into poetry in high school. I was president of the poetry club and we put on reading for other schools and our classmates regularly. Along with many other amazing poets I read & memorized a lot of her poems, but the one that stuck with me, the one that never left my soul was Phenomenal Woman.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a womanPhenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.Maya Angelou
