Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”–Dr. Maya Angelou
She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Google CelebratesDr. Maya Angelou’s 90th Birthdaywith doodle on April 4, 2018.
She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.
Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.
Maya Angelou Poems:
1. And Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread 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 back yard.
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.
2. When I Think About Myself
When I think about myself,
I almost laugh myself to death,
My life has been one great big joke,
A dance that’s walked
A song that’s spoke,
I laugh so hard I almost choke
When I think about myself.
Sixty years in these folks’ world
The child I works for calls me girl
I say ‘Yes ma’am’ for working’s sake.
Too proud to bend
Too poor to break,
I laugh until my stomach ache,
When I think about myself.
My folks can make me split my side,
I laughed so hard I nearly died,
The tales they tell, sound just like lying,
They grow the fruit,
But eat the rind,
I laugh until I start to crying,
When I think about my folks.
3. Equality
You declare you see me dimly
through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and marking time.
You do own to hear me faintly
as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.
You announce my ways are wanton,
that I fly from man to man,
but if I’m just a shadow to you,
could you ever understand ?
We have lived a painful history,
we know the shameful past,
but I keep on marching forward,
and you keep on coming last.
Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.
Take the blinders from your vision,
take the padding from your ears,
and confess you’ve heard me crying,
and admit you’ve seen my tears.
Hear the tempo so compelling,
hear the blood throb in my veins.
Yes, my drums are beating nightly,
and the rhythms never change.
Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.
4. Passing Time
Your skin like dawn
Mine like musk
One paints the beginning
of a certain end.
The other, the end of a
sure beginning.
5. Son to Mother
I start no
wars, raining poison
on cathedrals,
melting Stars of David
into golden faucets
to be lighted by lamps
shaded by human skin.
I set no
store on the strange lands,
send no
missionaries beyond my
borders,
to plunder secrets
and barter souls.
They
say you took my manhood,
Momma.
Come sit on my lap
and tell me,
what do you want me to say
to them, just
before I annihilate
their ignorance ?
6. Caged Bird
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
7. Alone
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
8. Woman Work
I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I’ve got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.
Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.
Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
‘Til I can rest again.
Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.
Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You’re all that I can call my own.
9.Human Family
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I’ve sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I’ve seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I’ve not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England’s moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we’re the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
10.Touched By An Angel
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.
Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.
We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
11. The Lesson
I keep on dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge. The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.
12. The Traveller
Byways and bygone
And lone nights long
Sun rays and sea waves
And star and stone
Manless and friendless
No cave my home
This is my torture
My long nights, lone
Maya Angelou Quotes
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Nothing will work unless you do.
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope
There is more to life than simply increasing its speed
There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.
You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.
Related:
“Do it Anyway” – Inspirational Poem of Mother Teresa/Kent M. Keith
Friendship Poems
Motivational Poem – Days Teach Me
FAQs
What is Maya Angelou's most famous quote? ›
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
What is the best inspirational quote Maya Angelou? ›"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." "It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself: to forgive.
What was the name of Maya Angelou most famous poem? ›Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Poetry Foundation.
What was Maya Angelou best selling poem? ›"And Still I Rise"
"And Still I Rise" is Maya Angelou's most famous poem, an ode to the strength of the human spirit.
- The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. - ...
- The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. - ...
- Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. ...
- If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor. -
"I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while; you can be generous for a while; you can be just for a while, or merciful for a while, even loving for a while.
What are 2 inspirational quotes? ›- “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” — ...
- “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.” — ...
- “Don't settle for average. ...
- “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” — ...
- “Don't bunt.
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall” – Confucius. “Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen” - – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them” – Walt Disney.
What is the most motivational quote ever? ›- “Do the best you can. ...
- “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” ―Theodore Roosevelt.
- 'It's never too late to be what you might've been.” ―George Eliot.
- “If you can dream it, you can do it.” ―Walt Disney.
- “Trust yourself that you can do it and get it.” ―Baz Luhrmann.
- Still I Rise by Maya Angelou.
- Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare.
- O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman.
- The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.
- Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas.
- i carry your heart with me by e.e. cummings.
- Power by Audre Lorde.
- The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.
What was Maya Angelou first poem? ›
...
Maya Angelou | |
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Notable works | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings "On the Pulse of Morning" |
The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou, published by Random House in 1994 contains 167 poems, including the poem she wrote and read at the inauguration of President Clinton, "On the Pulse of Morning." Following that compilation, Maya Angelou wrote and published another 7 poems including "Mother: A Cradle to Hold ...
What are 2 important works by Maya Angelou? ›- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)
- And Still I Rise (1978)
- The Heart of a Woman (1981)
- On the Pulse of Morning (1993)
- A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002)
- #1. From 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes (1906) ...
- #2. 'A Red, Red Rose' by Robert Burns (1794) ...
- #3. 'Crossing the Bar' by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1889) ...
- #4. From 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe (1845) ...
- #5. From 'Howl' by Allan Ginsberg (1956) ...
- #6. ...
- #7. ...
- #8.
- "When you have a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go." ...
- "Nothing is impossible. ...
- "There is nothing impossible to they who will try." ...
- "The bad news is time flies. ...
- "Life has got all those twists and turns. ...
- "Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you."
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” — Reinhold Niebuhr.
What is the best Maya Angelou quotes about love? ›“Love is that condition in the healing spirit so profound that it allows us to forgive," Dr. Angelou said during a SuperSoul Sunday episode with Oprah in 2013. “Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope," Dr.
What is a short quote for courage? ›Nelson Mandela: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Have the courage to act instead of react." Ovid: "Courage conquers all things: it even gives strength to the body."
What is the best positive life quotes? ›"Lead from the heart, not the head." "Always find opportunities to make someone smile, and to offer random acts of kindness in everyday life." "You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness." "The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts."
What are some 3 word quotes? ›- “I'll be there.”
- “I love you.”
- “Maybe you're right.”
- “I trust you.”
- “Go for it.”
- “Got your back.”
- “How are you?”
- “I want you.”
What is a strong woman quote? ›
“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong.”
What are the 5 words of wisdom? ›- Pursue Passion More Than Profit. ...
- Hard Work Beats Talent. ...
- Excellence, Not Perfection. ...
- Big is Little and Little is Big. ...
- You Choose Your Spouse, Not Your Child.
- “Whatever you are, be a good one.” ...
- “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ...
- “Act as if what you do makes a difference. ...
- “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” ...
- “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” ...
- “Limit your 'always' and your 'nevers'.”
"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts." "Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle." "You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice."
What's today's positive quote? ›You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow. In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.
What is the most beautiful poems ever written? ›- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 33. ...
- Thomas Dekker, 'Golden Slumbers'. ...
- William Wordsworth, 'My Heart Leaps Up'. ...
- Lord Byron, 'She Walks in Beauty'. ...
- W. B. Yeats, 'He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven'. ...
- Charlotte Mew, 'A Quoi Bon Dire'.
Rondels are 13 lines total and generally follow an ABBA ABAB ABBAA rhyme scheme.
What is a 5 sentence poem? ›A quintain (also known as a quintet) is any poetic form or stanza that contains five lines. Quintain poems can contain any line length or meter, the most common being a limerick.
What is Maya Angelou most famous text? ›Angelou's most famous work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), deals with her early years in Long Beach, St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas, where she lived with her brother and paternal grandmother.
What poem did Maya Angelou read at Obama inauguration? ›“ON THE PULSE OF MORNING” by Maya Angelou written: Spoken at the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony, January 20, 1993. Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages. Back and face your distant destiny, But seek no haven in my shadow.
What are 3 Maya Angelou quotes? ›
- When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. ...
- If you don't like something, change it. ...
- My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. ...
- I have great respect for the past.
"I believe that each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory." Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that's me."