"I've learned I still have a lot to learn."

Immediately as I read the words of Maya Angelou passing I wanted to write.

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

I wanted to write because it was she who awakened my world at age 17.

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

I wanted to write because her words still rocked my world at age 40.

"The epitome of sophistication is utter simplicity."

It was her books I read out-loud with inspiration to each of my boyfriends.

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these 3 things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights"

It was her words that grounded our human spirits.

"While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation."

It was her books that I read and re-read, each time like it was the first.

"If you get, give. If you learn, teach."

It was her quotes I had posted on my bathroom mirrors.

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

It was her graceful spirit that sent chills up my spine and tears to my eyes.

"There is nothing greater that you can say to God than thank you, thank you, thank you."

If you've never heard her read, listen here. 

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 palms of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

 

"And still I Rise."