(“Maya Angelou – March 28, 2008 7:30 PM St. Sabina African American Speaking Series”; courtesy of Saint Sabina Photos)
This Sunday I’ve decided to try a new feature on “Abundance Blog at Marelisa-Online”: Inspiration Sunday. It consists in sharing with you poems, stories, or quotes that I find inspirational and that I hope you’ll find inspirational as well. To start off, below you’ll find the poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou.
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.
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
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So cool. I’m loving this idea.
“Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.”
That’s my goal in life. Some days I’m there, others I’m not, but at least now I’ve got better words to express it.
Saras last blog post..Why Choose Simplicity?
Hi Sara: Isn’t it a beautiful poem? I think it should be mandatory reading in schools.
Oh, Mare, this is just beautiful.
It captures the idea of inner beauty, of self-assurance, of a REAL woman that refuses to become oppressed by fashion trends and by stigmas.
Thank you.
Vereds last blog post..The Blurry Line Between Online and Real-Life Relationships
Hi Vered: Exactly. There’s women whom people just can’t take their eyes off of, and not because they’re “beautiful” in the traditional sense, but because they just give off an aura that says that it’s great to be around them.
While the poem itself is not something I find myself relating to (not that I’m trying to insinuate that there’s anything wrong with publishing female-oriented content!) I like the idea of Inspiration Sunday. There’s more power in the arts than most people give credit for.
The net has, unfortunately, become a place where you can’t publish material oriented to one audience or another without getting a bunch of complaints. See this article at FreelanceSwitch and my published response.
Do you think any guys will pop up to tell you how offended they are that you directed this piece at your female audience? I sure hope not; this widespread attitude is killing the ability to write useful content for any audience you please.
Good work and good choice, Mare, I’m sure the women reading your blog will enjoy this!
Joel Falconers last blog post..Why Referral & Affiliate Programs Beat Plain Old Contextual Ads
Joel: I thought about the fact that this poem is directed at women, and I was going to add a beautiful speech given by Nelson Mandela to add something that the men could also enjoy, but then I decided against it for two reasons:
One, after thinking about it I concluded that in fact this poem is also directed at men because they should also be aware that what makes a woman beautiful is strength, confidence, joy, and passion.
And two, a man is welcome to write “Phenomal Man”. After all, I wrote “75 Skills that Every Woman Should Master” in response to Esquire’s list of “75 Skills Every Man Should Master.”
Next week I’m planning to publish Mandela’s speech.
Yeah, separating them is a good idea – gives them more power when they stand on their own, I think.
I grok what you mean about it also being directed at men and agree, there’s much to consider and learn from this poem; but learning from something and relating to something are different ballgames – to empathize you’d have to be a woman, I think. Just to clarify what I meant when I said that I don’t personally relate. I didn’t intend it as a slur nor even to say I didn’t get anything from this post, as it was great food for thought. Thank you, Marelisa.
Your approach re: 75 Skills… is similar to what I did with the FreelanceSwitch article, though I admit I did mine somewhat tongue-in-cheek
Joel Falconers last blog post..Why Referral & Affiliate Programs Beat Plain Old Contextual Ads
Joel: I know, you were sharing with me–and my readers–what sometimes happens when a post seems to be directed at one sex or the other (or one particular group). I always value your comments and your input
Hi Marelisa,
This is a beautiful poem. It proves there is nothing as beautiful as a self confident woman.
Thanks for sharing!
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..You’re Only As Good As Your Current Post
Hi Barbara. I’m glad you liked it!