Phenomenal Woman

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)