Still I rise a poem by Maya Angelou

... a poem of resilience

Photo by Chester HIggins Jr

Still I rise a poem by Maya Angelou is one of my favourite poems. So much that, my friend Stella and I performed it as part of our devised piece for our final year in university. This poem tells the story of defiance particularly in the face of persecution and oppression. Thank you for reading Still I rise a poem by Maya Angelou. Please feel free to check out the rest of my website, for example the rest of this art category. Comment on one of your favourite posts and let me know why you like that post specifically.

Still I rise a poem by Maya Angelou

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.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

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.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.  Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou.

Remember

No matter what situation you are going through, you can still rise!! However, I should emphasise that this poem was written by a black woman. Furthermore, she was expressing her experience as a black woman. So I feel it appropriate to encourage you to have conversations with the black women in your life. Of course no one's story is above anyone else's. But in 2020 when racism is coming to the forefront, the response should be love. I pray that we may firstly learn that someone boldly telling their story does not immediately or automatically discredit your own. Secondly, we all have differing perspectives. So if we want to live in unity and harmony, we should at least try to understand each other's perspective.

It's also important to realise that just because we have never seen something happening, does not mean it does not happen. So in every situation let's listen to each other to learn, understand and be a helping hand in one way or another. In summary, I believe that 2020 is ultimately teaching us that life can not go on as it has. For example when it comes to justice and human rights, government and how countries are ran. And also environmentally. Especially in our personal life as well. So let's allow 2020 to be a year of growth. Not just a year of pain, but maybe we should recognise all the pain as growing pain. Because our world needs to change. And the way we are doing things and have done things previously is not enough anymore.

Thank you once again for reading Still I rise a poem by Maya Angelou. I appreciate your support especially now, in the infancy of my blog.