Phenomenal Woman -- one for the ladies =)greenspun.com : LUSENET : TB2K spinoff uncensored : One Thread |
Phenomenal Woman
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion 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 steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
And to a man
Just as cool as you please
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 of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
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
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
Phenomenal woman
That's me.>>
-- cin (cin@=0.)), September 08, 2000
AWESOME...I've read this once before.Liked it that time...and appreciate it even more this time.
:)
-- Peg (too@much.spam), September 08, 2000.
Very nice, cin. thank you.
-- Bingette (howe9@shentel.net), September 08, 2000.
WOMEN ARE AWESOME!! (except the fat ones)Voluptuos tits and asses of all shapes and sizes, cute little tight pussies twitching with desire to be rammed. Life would be boring without them.
(P.S. Women are best when they don't talk too much or try to use their brains. Also best if they avoid voting :)
-- (i love em! i need em! @ can't live without. em!), September 08, 2000.
i love'em:I'd really like to see the kind of women you attract-NOT.
-- Fanny (Oprah'sfanclub@telley.daily), September 08, 2000.
i love 'em, aka Hawk, could not attrack a woman of any size, not even a brain dead one. Heck, he couldn't even attrack the most desparate jailbird faggot.Nice poem Cin.
-- Fan of Cin (you@go.girl), September 08, 2000.
LOL!! You must be the fat ones! (last two posters)Lose some weight, and I'll think about it. ;-)
-- i love em! (no@porkers.please), September 08, 2000.
Bingette: Do you like to mudwrestle?
-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), September 08, 2000.
king of spain...uh....nevermind
-- cin (cin@=0.)), September 08, 2000.
One of my favorite poems from one of my favorite authors!! Thanks, cin.
-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), September 09, 2000.
Cin:I agree with Patricia. The only thing better than reading one of Angelou's poems is listening to her recite it herself. Thanks.
-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), September 09, 2000.
Thanks for the poem, Cin. I think we all need to believe that we are phenomenal women, at one time or another (including "Bingette")!
-- Grace (SincerelyGrace@aol.com), September 09, 2000.
You're welcome, and thank you too. I feel a bit empowered when I read this. =0)
-- cin (cin@=0).cin), September 09, 2000.
LOL, Grace.When I read the poem I had to respond in some measure, but was very pressed for time. Since the thread is entitled ...one for the ladies, I altered my handle to fit the mold.
Maya Angelou is a goddess. A woman all (man and woman) should be proud to emulate in even the smallest of ways. She is one whom I am ever grateful rose above her painful beginnings, and shares her pain with each of us through her writings. If her works aren't required reading in high schools across this nation, shame on those who pick the books that make the short lists.
BTW, while on a flight last month I read the airline magazine provided in the pouch attached to the rear of the seat in front of me. There was a short interview with Maya Angelou. One subject she broached was "author intentionality" (recognize the term, FS?).
Angelou also mentioned the works of one Paul Laurence Dunbar, a turn- of-the-century author who died young, but produced some awesome pieces of poetry. All my books are packed away, but he wrote one which stands out in my mind:
WE WEAR THE MASK
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise
We wear the mask!
-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), September 09, 2000.
Thanks Bingo.Some of us deserve Oscar Statuettes for the roles that we play. =)
-- cin (cin@=0.)), September 09, 2000.
True, but sad statement, cin.When I read Dunbar's words about 10 years ago I had already taken steps to shed the mask(s). Or more accurately, thin them out a bit. I realized (theoretically) that the pains this world presents to me for consumption do not require I parry them by adopting alter egos, false pretenses, and other coping mechanisms.
I can "peel the onion" that is my adopted persona, and still survive the hardships life deals out, all the while progressing towards my goal. Adding layers of complexity born from deception is no prescription for finding inner truth, IMO.
Hiding one's heart, shielding oneself from being touched by another, is to cultivate numbness, is to create a barren world within, is to deny the existence of God's love in one's life experience. I know this is true because it was my way.
Thank you Mr. Dunbar. I tip my ever-thinning mask to you.
Sorry for taking your thread in this direction, cin. Gotta share what bubbles up. Now back to Maya...
-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), September 09, 2000.