Today, I say 'Rest in Paradise' to a woman whom I've admired
from afar, Maya Angelou 1928-2014. We won't ever forget your wise words. My
favorite quotes like, "A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a
man has to seek Him just to find her" and the poem Phenomenal Woman
(below) are ones that I cherish.
Donna Brazille, a CNN contributor, wrote it best: "Let
her rest now. Rest with Malcolm and Betty, with Coretta and Martin and Dorothy
Height, with James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. Let her dance with James Brown,
Michael Jackson, and rejoice with Mahalia Jackson. Most of all, let her smile
and be at peace with Mandela."
Phenomenal Woman
By Maya Angelou
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 woman
Phenomenally.
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 for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman” from And Still I Rise.
Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, Inc.
Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random
House Inc., 1994)
