On May 28, 2014, influential African American author, poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, died at the age of 86.
Her contribution to literature, human rights and social justice traveled further than the African American community.
In 2011, she was honored with the Presidental Medal of Freedom, which is America’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama.
Maya Angelou, who was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, experienced a tough childhood. At age seven, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend who waslater beaten to death. Both experiences left her mute for six years; it was during this period that she began writing, an activity that would grow to touch many around the world.
Today, in her memory, we leave you with one of Maya Angelou’s famous poems, “Phenomenal Woman.”
Thank you Maya Angelou. May your soul rest in peace.
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 of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.