We don’t need to introduce to you the phenomenal woman that Maya Angelou was. The life she led — whether as a raging feminist, a resilient human or a roaring fortress of hope — is a quintessential path we could observe and follow.
However, let’s lay the big facts in front of you before we move ahead to some goosebumps-inducing poetry by the exemplar.
Bestower of courage
A recipient of the biggest literary awards, this African-American woman played more than her part in the civil rights movement, being one of the most stirring voices of the black people. Her works, often considered as defense of black culture, revolve around themes of racism, feminism, self-love (that’s how we like to see a lot of the analogies), family, identity and so on.
Born on 4 April 1928, it was the writer’s 94th birth anniversary this year! Did you know that besides being a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Angelou is also Hollywood’s first female black director? Her name is still etched in the National Women’s Hall of Fame in the US and she also recently became the first African-American woman to be on the quarter!
Here’s a countdown to some of the best poetic expressions by the writer.
10. ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’
‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’
The phrase and the poem, together, evidently bring home the message — that life doesn’t frighten her and it shouldn’t frighten anyone. As simple as it sounds, the phrase comes from a vulnerable depth of facing the toughest challenges. Angelou’s life was one full of thorns and rising above the obstacles was what gave her power, and was what she wanted her readers to learn too.
9. Equality
Talking about millennials still having to fight for basic fundamental rights and equality… Angelou had once written,
You declare you see me dimly
through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and marking time.
You do own to hear me faintly
as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and I will be free.
However, when Angelou said “Equality, and I will be free,” we’d like to believe the world received the courage to collectively voice their rights, and stand up for themselves.
8. HELL IS INTERNAL
Death is internal. Hell is internal. Love is internal
Maya Angelou, in her poem ‘Detached’, once reiterated the Faustian truth that hell, death and love, after all, are internal. The words hit deep as she points out at the conflict between the pure and dark junctions.
Whatever it is, we induce it. So even though lust and love might get mingled and chaotic, we can still feel and emote because love exists inside. Love is internal. No matter what happens, remember, hell or living death is self-induced.
7.
On Ageing
I’m the same person I was back then,
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.
And here’s some free therapy for you — practising gratitude. Angelou aged gracefully and carried herself as elegantly as one could. Thus, coming your way some meticulous mantras from positive ageing!
6. Listen
Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.
— Maya Angelou (@DrMayaAngelou) May 23, 2014
Four days before her death, Angelou shared some enlightened thoughts with the world, “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”
Listen to your inner voice, it might impart wisdom you never knew you had in you! Yet again, we’re drawing a parallel with our Indian philosophy of ‘Aham Brahmasmi‘. You can move mountains when you believe you have God residing within you.
5. How you make people feel
These insightful words might be said by numerous people but when Angelou emphasised the life lesson, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” the world listened!
The essence is simple — whether you made someone feel included or small, ignored or special, exhausted or energised, people remember just that and that’s how you come off to others!
4. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud”
In her collection of letters called ‘Letter to My Daughter’, the poet laureate write “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud” and it still resonates deeply with readers.
Because bringing a smile to someone’s face engenders a strength unmatched. You don’t know what internal battles the other person has been fighting daily, and, honestly? You don’t need to know either. What matters is that if you came into their life or their day as a ray of hope.
3. Phenomenal Women
Whatever we say about this iconic poem will never be enough. Here’s poetry you read while growing up and it, even today, is as relatable as it was when you first glanced at it. The beautiful poem imparts so, so many lessons.
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.
SELF-LOVE
In today’s world, where the concept of body-shaming is coming to the surface, somewhere we have Angelou to thank for for being body-positive, for accepting and embracing all the flaws and all the scars.
CONFIDENCE
You walk in an office, and as the heels click on the floor and eyes turn at you, you’re drowned in the feeling of ‘boss-lady vibes’. And these futuristic lines fit perfectly in the 2022 scenario.
FEMINISM
In today’s world, where the meaning and importance of feminism is so controversial, Angelou simply advocated for equality in the rights of both genders and focussed on uplifting the downtrodden gender at the time.
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
In her autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Angelou talks about the importance that poetry played in her life, how it helped her get over the most excruciating traumas of her life. In the poem, Angelou teaches her readers to go after unfulfilled dreams to live a life one desires and points at the significance of independence and freedom in life.
1. Still I Rise…
We could’ve pasted the entire poem, because here is an evergreen masterpiece that renders a gush of strength as the reader recites,
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 backyard.
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.
So, people, the next time you hit the nadir and are facing heaps of darkness, remember these lines and we promise it will instill fresh hope in your life!
A tribute
Whether you’re looking to find new meanings in life, or want to resurrect some lost confidence, or want to be inspired by divine renderings by a brave person who fought a cruel history and still she rose — you know which poet laureate to turn to, confide in, and reminisce.
