"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.



-Maya Angelou







"Still I Rise"



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,

StillI`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 back yard.



You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with youreyes,

You may kill mewith 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