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.
~ Maya Angelou
___________________
Bonus: Roots of She shared these links this morning and I wanted to pass them along ...
10 Reasons to Be OK With Being Disliked
Too Muchness and Other Things We Are Ashamed to Claim
Love this poem and Dr. Maya reading it- living it in each word- beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteIt is fine to be disliked yet we don't want women in general to focus on that altogether because then we are just constantly fighting for ourselves instead of enjoying the Divinity of Being. Most in conflict with us have some things to teach too while others we can hold at a loving distance with great for thought and strength. None of us here want anyone broken. Those who wish for broken have never been broken, those who fear broken ess have not known the inspiration and empowerment that comes from mourning.
ReplyDeleteWe are enough. We can have the goal to grow ( which is not being more) and the goal to humility (which is not being less either) yet still be powerful voices of love. There will be misunderstandings but if we love another we will push through with our amazing strength and fortitude. Not many love everything I am...but the few that do make it easier to continue on and still have compassion for those who do not "get" me. I can not have everyone get me. This knowledge brings peace.
Some days I fight for understanding while other days I am content to quietly go through. I am fine with owning it all. But in everything I want grace for myself and others. We rise, we mourn, we become, we step back, we learn we do not have all the answers for everyone while we learn our answers are to be shared with kindness intent. We learn to be all we can be yet having patience for those who are not. We learn like Mother Teresa to be humble and serve is a strong woman but we also learn that this comes in many forms. We learn from Maya Angelou ( her book Letters to My Daughter) that we should not accept torture and the emancipation of women. We all have different gifts that we can glean from each other. The true strength lies in tireless communication and empathy.
As women we know that simply because another woman may have a different idea does not mean she dislikes but means that both women can have the empowerment to change different aspects of the world for the better...if love is the first word. Love means respect, commitment, justice, grace, empathy...wanting another's spiritual growth while still be true to our own.
Oppose-ment or judgement unfortunately happens. Appeasement can be just as damaging. Our giving heart aches for that reality. We should not worship each other but see fellow travelers of Divine beauty. We all go through varied stages at differing times.
For those who truly judge- they will learn their own lessons in their own time- carry on:) But for those who are simply on another path- they are not judging...they are just staying true to their path while conversing and loving with others to the best of their ability. When we worship other women we lose our sense of self. Women are not to be worshipped- they are to be loved and given life...because they are the raw life givers of dust, mud, blood and earth. It's dirty business...but life changing growth. Women are to be bold Ezer Kenegdos. The strength of the world, half the sky that helps uphold the other. By journeying here together we start to see that:) We all use different words for this. I use Ezer Kenegdo - you use warrioress...essentially if we look closer they are similar in the intent.
No one should try to take away your essence, sass, bravery, sexiness, and happiness. On the flip side, each true friend should challenge in love from time to time, stay true to their own truths while respecting anothers and be bold in love. We each do our best for the fallible yet divine women we are. You are so loved Rain. So loved. I admire your vulnerability and strength, your patience and impatience, your desires and your boundaries. I hope you feel the same back in varied ways:) You have expressed this is a tough season and my woman heart hurts for you but I am so excited for the paths you may take in the future. I am hurting too and know what that is like. I am also very strong in this and know the same goes for you. My prayers are for you in both strength and vulnerability.
Um, wow!! :)
Deletethis was beautiful. i love maya angelou, such a strong and compassionate woman. we are all so different, yet a thread of us is the same, a shared vision of rising up from whatever our pasts and presents are. all of us have important messages that come from that part of us that was wounded. we find our gifts in those wounds and when we rise up with strength, our own individual strength, with our own unique voices, people listen. the people who need the message, that's why there are so many different voices and causes so we can help to heal each other. we can create a beautiful symphony by allowing each other their words, even if those words don't resonate with some, they will resonate with others. For as many paths as there are in this world, on this huge planet, in this vast universe, there are just as many injustices and hurts and people pleading to be taken out of their circumstances. by rising up, authentically with help from the otherwordly source, the seed that began it all and created us all, whatever name we choose to give it, if it is love based and truth based and humility based, there can be no harm in that. I loved this post and you are a gifted soul whose voice is entirely needed as are many others. Maya Angelou's poem had strength in it and also hurt... and when that rising up leads to empowerment without bitterness eventually, leads to kindness and honouring other souls, that is powerful stuff. powerful enough that we can help change a broken world.
ReplyDeleteSpent all morning thinking about words that jump from this page to me like lightning onto the earth
ReplyDeleteI first heard that poem sung in a documentary about the Children's March in Birmingham Alabama.
ReplyDeleteIt is powerful. The documentary is too! :)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443587/
Danie
Maya .... she moves in me.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI gave you an award and tagged you at my blog Dryada Journals, just to let you know! :)
Lindsay
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind, but I share this poem in my blog... It's so beautiful and powerful...thank you for sharing this with us...