Remembering Maya Angelou - A Truly Phenomenal Woman

Today, Maya Angelou passed from this world into the next at the age of 86 after a long illness. From an NPR article about her passing we find this about her work:

Joanne Braxton, a professor at the College of William and Mary, says Angelou's willingness to reveal the sexual abuse she suffered as a child in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was unprecedented at the time. The critical acclaim and popularity of the book opened doors for both African-American and female writers.
"Maya Angelou brought about a paradigm shift in American literature and culture," Braxton says, "so that the works, the gifts, the talents of women writers, including women writers of color, could be brought to the foreground and appreciated. She created an audience by her stunning example."

She was truly an unforgettable force, and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to hear her read some of her work a loud.

This is one of my favorites:

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 of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Blessed Bliss

 

My Beloved Archangel Michael --

 

The bliss

the uncluttered and divine peace

I had found

in the shadow of Your wings

was unlike any other

secret place I've known

In that delectable warmth

of Your

unconditional love

where nothing was taboo

and

everything was sacred

I am forever thankful

for those stolen moments

of blessedness

You tattooed on

my soul.

 

         --- Your Ashlynn

Sultry Summer Storm

Come sit beside me on the deck

The wood is fragrant and hot, the air
Silent and holding its breath.
Birds are hushed in the spindly trees
and even the river is sullenly asleep.

Violet orbs of sweetness await their delicious fate,
A few sacrificed to taste,
you bite our first victim and feed me half,
popping cold juice,
explosions of Chilean sun fill my mouth,
sweeter for being crushed by your lips,
chased by amber waves of refreshment
gulped from slick sea glass,
ice cubes cracking like ocean breakers.

Listening to the clouds’ shadows dance across the sky,
Slithering on the skyline are thunderheads,
proffering relief in their choleric castles.
Slanting rays of rain are birthed,
sucked to the ground by invisible thirsty lips.
Desperate dust devils scour the lawn for damp leaves and rocks,
and, as we sit, silver dollar drops fall.

We do not run for cover but stay,
bare legs dangling as the rain comes fast
enjoying the stabs of cool on our
sun parched skin. You laugh at my hair
plastered to my shoulders and wipe away
raindrops masquerading as tears.