A LOOK INTO MY WORLD: "PHENOMENAL WOMAN"- MY FAVORITE MAYA ANGELOU POEM

Maya Angelou was such a brilliant woman. I've read a few of her pieces while in college and there was not one that I disliked. It's amazing that despite the many obstacles she faced she still came out on top. 

From being raped as a child, to working as a kitchen helper, to being a prostitute. She even at one point became mute for 5 years after the man that raped her was murdered. She thought her voice killed him since she spoke his name when she told what he did to her. And after all these things, she still beat the odds and became a successful poet, writer and professor. 

Ms. Angelou was the idea role model for woman all around. I actually recited this poem for my Oral Comminications course. I remember practicing in the mirror of my dorm room, because I wanted to do Dr. Angelou as well as the poem justice. I also included the poem in this post. R.I.P. Dr. Angelou, you will be missed greatly.

Photos: Dwight Carter/ Random House

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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 for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.