Tapestry | Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Caged Bird
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
FromOn the Pulse of Mourning
A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
Still I rise
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.
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.
We Had Him
Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing
Now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind
Touched by an Angel
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
Men
When I was young, I used to
Watch behind the curtains
As men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Alone
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
Woman Work
I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
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