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Maya Angelou: Poems: Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie/Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well/And Still I Rise/Shaker, Why Don't You Sing
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
92 people are currently reading
494 people want to read
About the author
Maya Angelou
296 books14.6k followersMaya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou's series of seven autobiographies 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.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
She became a poet and writer after a string of odd jobs during her young adulthood. These included fry cook, sex worker, nightclub performer, Porgy and Bess cast member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference coordinator, and correspondent in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. Angelou was also an actress, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Angelou was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made approximately 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.
With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for Black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide, although attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries. Angelou's most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes that include racism, identity, family, and travel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 12, 2025
I love, love, loved this! And this one was the loveliest of all-
A Conceit
Give me your hand
Make room for me
to lead and follow
you
beyond this rage of poetry.
Let others have
the privacy of
touching words
and love of loss
of love.
For me
Give me your hand.
A Conceit
Give me your hand
Make room for me
to lead and follow
you
beyond this rage of poetry.
Let others have
the privacy of
touching words
and love of loss
of love.
For me
Give me your hand.
July 10, 2021
Idk how to review this I just loved it
March 27, 2023
Hands down the best poet I've had the pleasure of reading so far.
November 6, 2022
Once you pick up a book by Maya Angelou, there is not putting it back down. Reading poetry has a meditative component to it, and this book did not disappoint.
When it comes to the author, she is a role model of resilience, something to aspire to. She was positive and wise and well read. A beautiful, independent woman that did get hurt but didn’t stay down (I keep on dying,
Because I love to live). Everything she writes, even the roughest narratives, has a hopeful voice. Not an easy feat.
When it comes to her art, boy is she good with words. Some poems are dynamic, full of verbs and literary motion… taking you to the greatest heights and the furthest reaches. All of her poems about love are gorgeous. Serene. Full of quatrains. Easy to read, and easy to feel.
I was yours to love
And you were always mine
We have belonged together
In and out of time
Other poems are busy, full of noisy consonants and nouns (reading “In women’s work” I realized my breath was quickening, freaking amazing words can do that, innit?)
Finishing this long ass review with the beautiful words (even slant rhymes she crafts amazingly) from “On the pulse of morning”.
Lift up your eyes
Upon this day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Take that pout off your face, dust your hands off on the thighs and let’s fucking go.
When it comes to the author, she is a role model of resilience, something to aspire to. She was positive and wise and well read. A beautiful, independent woman that did get hurt but didn’t stay down (I keep on dying,
Because I love to live). Everything she writes, even the roughest narratives, has a hopeful voice. Not an easy feat.
When it comes to her art, boy is she good with words. Some poems are dynamic, full of verbs and literary motion… taking you to the greatest heights and the furthest reaches. All of her poems about love are gorgeous. Serene. Full of quatrains. Easy to read, and easy to feel.
I was yours to love
And you were always mine
We have belonged together
In and out of time
Other poems are busy, full of noisy consonants and nouns (reading “In women’s work” I realized my breath was quickening, freaking amazing words can do that, innit?)
Finishing this long ass review with the beautiful words (even slant rhymes she crafts amazingly) from “On the pulse of morning”.
Lift up your eyes
Upon this day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Take that pout off your face, dust your hands off on the thighs and let’s fucking go.
December 28, 2021
Maya Angelou is a poet of her time, resonating with black women needing inspiration. There are a few poems (such as "Song for the Old Ones," "Still I Rise," and "Caged Bird") which will most likely be canonized. The other poems, however, aren't that great--the ones that mostly deal with relationships, God, and motherhood.
December 27, 2021
I can't give a better rating because I didn't understand a lot of the poems or the words in them.
These are the parts I liked:
P26
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 work 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.
P32-33
Times square shoeshine composition
I'm the best that ever done it
(pow pow)
that's my title and I won it
(pow pow)
I ain't lying, I'm the best
(pow pow)
Come and put me to the test
(pow pow)
I'll clean 'em til they squeak
(pow pow)
In the middle of next week,
(pow pow)
I'll shine 'em til they whine
(pow pow)
Till they call me master mine
(pow pow)
For a quarter and a dime
(pow pow)
You can get the dee luxe shine
(pow pow)
Say you wanta pay a quarter?
(pow pow)
Then you give that to your daughter
(pow pow)
I ain't playing dozens mister
(pow pow)
You can give it to your sister
(pow pow)
Any way you want to read it
(pow pow)
Maybe it's your momma need it
(pow pow)
Say I'm like a greedy bigot,
(pow pow)
I'm a cap'tilist, can you dig it?
(pow pow)
P34
Faces
"Breathe, Brother
and displaced a moment's hate with organized love."
P40-43
No No No No
"I've let your men cram my mouth
with their black throbbing hate
and I swallowed after"
P44
My guilt
"My sin is "hanging from a tree"
I do not scream, it makes new proud.
I take to dying like a man.
I do it to impress the crowd.
My sin lies in not screaming loud."
P90
Chicken-Licken
"Autopsy: read
dead of acute peoplelessness."
P104-106
Take time out
"Take Time Out.
Use a minute
feel some sorrow
for the folks
who think tomorrow
is a place that they
can call up
on the phone.
Take a month
and show some kindness
for the folks
who thought that blindness
was an illness that
affected eyes alone."
P119-120
Where We Belong, A Duet
In every town and village,
In every city square,
In crowded places
I searched the faces
Hoping to find
Someone to care.
I read mysterious meanings
In the distant stars,
Then I went to schoolrooms
And poolrooms
And half-lighted cocktail bars.
Braving dangers,
Going wit strangers,
I don't even remember their names.
I was quick and breezy
And always easy
Playing romantic games.
I wined and dined a thousand exotic Joans and Janes
In dusty dance halls, at debutante balls,
On lonely country lanes.
I fell in love forever,
Twice every year or so.
I wooed them sweetly, was theirs completely,
But they always let me go.
Saying bye now, no need to try now,
You don't have the proper charms.
Too sentimental and much too gentle
I don't tremble in your arms.
Then you rose into my life
Like a promised sunrise.
Brightening my days with the light in your eyes.
I've never been so strong,
Now I'm where I belong.
P121-123
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.
P141-142
Willie
"I may cry and I will die,
But my spirit is the soul of every spring,
Watch for me and you will see
That I'm present in the songs that children sing."
"Wait for me, watch for me.
My spirit is the surge of open seas.
Look for me, ask for me,
I'm the rustle in the autumn leaves.
When the sun rises
I am the time.
When the children sing
I am the Rhyme."
P154-155
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,
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 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.
P161
On Aging
When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don't think I need your chattering.
I'm listening to myself.
Hold! Stop! Don't pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!
Understanding if you got it,
Otherwise I'll do without it!
When my bones are stiff and aching
And my feet won't climb the stair,
I will only ask one favor: Don't bring me no rocking chair.
When you see me walking, stumbling,
Don't study and get it wrong.
'Cause tired don't mean lazy
And every goodbye ain't gone.
I'm the same person I was back then,
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in.
P165
Call Letters: Mrs. V. B.
Ships?
Sure I'll sail them.
Show me the boat,
If it'll float,
I'll sail it.
Men?
Yes I'll love them.
If they've got the style,
To make me smile,
I'll love them.
Life?
'Course I'll live it.
Let me have breath,
Just to my death,
And I'll live it.
Failure?
I'm not ashamed to tell it,
I never learned to spell it.
Not failure.
P199
The Lie
Today, you threaten to leave me.
I hold curses, in my mouth,
which could flood your path, sear
bottomless chasms in your road.
I keep, behind my lips,
invectives capable of tearing
the septum from your
nostrils and the skin from your back.
Tears, copious as a spring rain,
are checked in ducts
and screams are crowded in a corner
of my throat.
Are you leaving?
Aloud, I say:
I'll help you pack, but it's getting late,
I'll have to hurry or miss my date.
When I return, I know you'll be gone.
Do drop a line or telephone.
P202-203
Family Affairs
You let down, form arched
Windows,
Over hand-cut stones of your
Cathedrals, seas of golden hair.
While I, pulled by dusty braids,
Left furrows in the
Sands of African beaches.
Princes and commoners
Climbed over waves to reach
Your vaulted boudoirs,
As the sun, capriciously,
Struck silver fire from waiting
Chains, where I was bound.
My screams never reached
The rare tower where you
Lay, birthing masters for
My sons, and for my
Daughters, a swarm of
Unclean badgers, to consume
Their history.
Tired now of pedestal existence
For fear of flying
And vertigo, you descend
And step lightly over
My centuries of horror
And take my hand,
Smiling calling me
Sister.
Sister, accept
That I must wait a
While. Allow an age
Of dust to fill
Ruts left on my
Beach in Africa.
P209
My Life Has Turned to Blue
Our summer's gone,
the golden days are through.
The rosy dawns I used to
wake with you
have turned to gray,
my life has turned to blue.
The once-green lawns
glisten now with dew.
Red robin's gone,
down to the South he flew.
Left here alone,
my life has turned to blue.
I've heard the news
that winter too will pass,
that spring's a sign
that summer's due at last.
But until I see you
lying in green grass,
my life has turned to blue.
These are the parts I liked:
P26
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 work 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.
P32-33
Times square shoeshine composition
I'm the best that ever done it
(pow pow)
that's my title and I won it
(pow pow)
I ain't lying, I'm the best
(pow pow)
Come and put me to the test
(pow pow)
I'll clean 'em til they squeak
(pow pow)
In the middle of next week,
(pow pow)
I'll shine 'em til they whine
(pow pow)
Till they call me master mine
(pow pow)
For a quarter and a dime
(pow pow)
You can get the dee luxe shine
(pow pow)
Say you wanta pay a quarter?
(pow pow)
Then you give that to your daughter
(pow pow)
I ain't playing dozens mister
(pow pow)
You can give it to your sister
(pow pow)
Any way you want to read it
(pow pow)
Maybe it's your momma need it
(pow pow)
Say I'm like a greedy bigot,
(pow pow)
I'm a cap'tilist, can you dig it?
(pow pow)
P34
Faces
"Breathe, Brother
and displaced a moment's hate with organized love."
P40-43
No No No No
"I've let your men cram my mouth
with their black throbbing hate
and I swallowed after"
P44
My guilt
"My sin is "hanging from a tree"
I do not scream, it makes new proud.
I take to dying like a man.
I do it to impress the crowd.
My sin lies in not screaming loud."
P90
Chicken-Licken
"Autopsy: read
dead of acute peoplelessness."
P104-106
Take time out
"Take Time Out.
Use a minute
feel some sorrow
for the folks
who think tomorrow
is a place that they
can call up
on the phone.
Take a month
and show some kindness
for the folks
who thought that blindness
was an illness that
affected eyes alone."
P119-120
Where We Belong, A Duet
In every town and village,
In every city square,
In crowded places
I searched the faces
Hoping to find
Someone to care.
I read mysterious meanings
In the distant stars,
Then I went to schoolrooms
And poolrooms
And half-lighted cocktail bars.
Braving dangers,
Going wit strangers,
I don't even remember their names.
I was quick and breezy
And always easy
Playing romantic games.
I wined and dined a thousand exotic Joans and Janes
In dusty dance halls, at debutante balls,
On lonely country lanes.
I fell in love forever,
Twice every year or so.
I wooed them sweetly, was theirs completely,
But they always let me go.
Saying bye now, no need to try now,
You don't have the proper charms.
Too sentimental and much too gentle
I don't tremble in your arms.
Then you rose into my life
Like a promised sunrise.
Brightening my days with the light in your eyes.
I've never been so strong,
Now I'm where I belong.
P121-123
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.
P141-142
Willie
"I may cry and I will die,
But my spirit is the soul of every spring,
Watch for me and you will see
That I'm present in the songs that children sing."
"Wait for me, watch for me.
My spirit is the surge of open seas.
Look for me, ask for me,
I'm the rustle in the autumn leaves.
When the sun rises
I am the time.
When the children sing
I am the Rhyme."
P154-155
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,
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 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.
P161
On Aging
When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don't think I need your chattering.
I'm listening to myself.
Hold! Stop! Don't pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!
Understanding if you got it,
Otherwise I'll do without it!
When my bones are stiff and aching
And my feet won't climb the stair,
I will only ask one favor: Don't bring me no rocking chair.
When you see me walking, stumbling,
Don't study and get it wrong.
'Cause tired don't mean lazy
And every goodbye ain't gone.
I'm the same person I was back then,
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in.
P165
Call Letters: Mrs. V. B.
Ships?
Sure I'll sail them.
Show me the boat,
If it'll float,
I'll sail it.
Men?
Yes I'll love them.
If they've got the style,
To make me smile,
I'll love them.
Life?
'Course I'll live it.
Let me have breath,
Just to my death,
And I'll live it.
Failure?
I'm not ashamed to tell it,
I never learned to spell it.
Not failure.
P199
The Lie
Today, you threaten to leave me.
I hold curses, in my mouth,
which could flood your path, sear
bottomless chasms in your road.
I keep, behind my lips,
invectives capable of tearing
the septum from your
nostrils and the skin from your back.
Tears, copious as a spring rain,
are checked in ducts
and screams are crowded in a corner
of my throat.
Are you leaving?
Aloud, I say:
I'll help you pack, but it's getting late,
I'll have to hurry or miss my date.
When I return, I know you'll be gone.
Do drop a line or telephone.
P202-203
Family Affairs
You let down, form arched
Windows,
Over hand-cut stones of your
Cathedrals, seas of golden hair.
While I, pulled by dusty braids,
Left furrows in the
Sands of African beaches.
Princes and commoners
Climbed over waves to reach
Your vaulted boudoirs,
As the sun, capriciously,
Struck silver fire from waiting
Chains, where I was bound.
My screams never reached
The rare tower where you
Lay, birthing masters for
My sons, and for my
Daughters, a swarm of
Unclean badgers, to consume
Their history.
Tired now of pedestal existence
For fear of flying
And vertigo, you descend
And step lightly over
My centuries of horror
And take my hand,
Smiling calling me
Sister.
Sister, accept
That I must wait a
While. Allow an age
Of dust to fill
Ruts left on my
Beach in Africa.
P209
My Life Has Turned to Blue
Our summer's gone,
the golden days are through.
The rosy dawns I used to
wake with you
have turned to gray,
my life has turned to blue.
The once-green lawns
glisten now with dew.
Red robin's gone,
down to the South he flew.
Left here alone,
my life has turned to blue.
I've heard the news
that winter too will pass,
that spring's a sign
that summer's due at last.
But until I see you
lying in green grass,
my life has turned to blue.
October 18, 2023
Welcome to my 127th @goodreads review with a stunning collection by @drmayaangelou (1928-2014). She’s received dozens of awards for many of her published works on top of her impressive achievement of more than 50 honorary degrees.
Out of 147 poems, I have a whopping 45 favourites listed below! There were 11 out of those 45 (marked in brackets) which in my opinion had the same sense of depth and pathos as all her poems, but they are also bespangled with the majestic combination of melody, aesthetics, artful expression and poetic eloquence which I thought were a league above the rest.
• The gamut
• Late october
• When you come to me (TOP 11)
• Remembering
• In a time
• Tears
• The detached
• Let’s majeste (TOP 11)
• After (TOP 11)
• Passing time
• Now long ago (TOP 11)
• Artful pose TOP 11)
• The couple
• Elegy (TOP 11)
• The king of love, some say (TOP 11)
• Where we belong, a duet
• Phenomenal woman
• California prodigal
• Willie (TOP 11)
• Woman work
• One more round
• Still I rise (TOP 11)
• Impeccable conception
• Caged bird
• A plagued journey
• Prescience
• Family affair
• Brief innocence
• Shaker, why don’t you sing?
• My life has turned to blue
• Known to eve and me
• These yet to be United States
• Many and more
• The new house (TOP 11)
• Our grandmothers (TOP 11)
• Preacher, don’t send me
• Loss of love
• When great trees fall
• On the pulse of morning
• Sons and daughters
• Amazing peace
• Mother
• In and out of time
• Amazement awaits
• His day is done (Nelson Mandela)
Out of 147 poems, I have a whopping 45 favourites listed below! There were 11 out of those 45 (marked in brackets) which in my opinion had the same sense of depth and pathos as all her poems, but they are also bespangled with the majestic combination of melody, aesthetics, artful expression and poetic eloquence which I thought were a league above the rest.
• The gamut
• Late october
• When you come to me (TOP 11)
• Remembering
• In a time
• Tears
• The detached
• Let’s majeste (TOP 11)
• After (TOP 11)
• Passing time
• Now long ago (TOP 11)
• Artful pose TOP 11)
• The couple
• Elegy (TOP 11)
• The king of love, some say (TOP 11)
• Where we belong, a duet
• Phenomenal woman
• California prodigal
• Willie (TOP 11)
• Woman work
• One more round
• Still I rise (TOP 11)
• Impeccable conception
• Caged bird
• A plagued journey
• Prescience
• Family affair
• Brief innocence
• Shaker, why don’t you sing?
• My life has turned to blue
• Known to eve and me
• These yet to be United States
• Many and more
• The new house (TOP 11)
• Our grandmothers (TOP 11)
• Preacher, don’t send me
• Loss of love
• When great trees fall
• On the pulse of morning
• Sons and daughters
• Amazing peace
• Mother
• In and out of time
• Amazement awaits
• His day is done (Nelson Mandela)
April 18, 2022
‘Still I Rise’ is the stand-out poem - interestingly, one of her few with any distinct form and shape.
August 29, 2022
Fantastic Poetry
It's A Great Tone Of Work
It's A Great Tone Of Work
January 1, 2024
SPEECHLESS reading this. What an incredible collection. I am so happy to be done with my reading challenge and devastated I can’t read this collection again for the first time.
February 11, 2024
Angelou is a legendary poet for good reason. Her voice is just so RICH.
May 17, 2022
Maya Angelou is such a good writer and poet; my mind is kind of blown actually.
January 11, 2023
her lyricism is unparalleled
December 4, 2019
3 1/4 stars
March 1, 2023
this collection of poems is so special this was actually so beautiful to read through. angelou captures so many different emotions and experiences in such wonderful ways. have almost every page dog-eared because wowowow + i wish i could put into words how good this was
June 20, 2021
I’ve, sort of surprisingly, never dove into Angelou’s canon of work. In my efforts to read more from diverse writers (and just needing to read the legend), I came across this collection at my little free library. Angelou is incredible. Loved it!
March 1, 2023
Some of poems in the collection are sublime, with engaging rhythms, exciting word choices, and deep, heartfelt thoughts about life and love and society and race. But too many of the poems resort to trite phrases and cliches, cover shallow ground, and have nothing profound or beautiful or new to say.
It's such an uneven collection ranging from the beauty of Still I Rise down to the ho-hummness of On Aging.
It's such an uneven collection ranging from the beauty of Still I Rise down to the ho-hummness of On Aging.
July 22, 2021
I’m here with another poetry book but this time with the greatest modern poet. Maya Angelou is simply amazing, every word she uses is perfect and expertly chosen and placed. The first book is a collection of four of her poetry collections. “Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die”, “Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well”, “And Still I Rise”, and “Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing”. These four collections are so beautiful for so many reasons. I also tagged to this her inaugural poem she wrote and read at Clinton’s Presidential Inauguration I believe. It’s a longer poem but the book is just the poem so I figured I’d attach it to this. It’s called “On the Pulse of Morning” and is such a beautiful and powerful poem on what America is, what it can be. This collection has introduced me to some more new favorites from Angelou as well! If you went through the American public school system then I would hope you’ve read a bit of her poetry before. I read a lot of her growing up but most prominently in my senior year in an AP Lit Class and some more in a college poetry class. These classes are where I fell in love with the stories she tells and the emotions she makes you feel in a short amount of time. From sex to self love, love to hate, the black experience to her life, Angelou covers a wide variety of topics in a nice flowing manner. Between traditional rhyme scheme poetry to mold breaking poetry Angelou has a way with words that will leave an impact long after the last line of the poem has been read. I’m currently itching to get my hands on more of her poetry collections and her autobiographies. I just need more Maya Angelou in my life. If you haven’t had the joy of reading a poem by her, please do yourself a favor and look her up right now. I’d suggest “Still I Rise”, “My Life is Blue”, “On the Pulse of Morning” or “The Caged Bird”, those are my four biggest favorites from her. Of course this collection gets a 10/10 (5/5 Stars)! I wish she were still here with us today but through these words she shall live forever. -Tyler.
November 24, 2020
This collection has never reviewed/critiqued by me before but well-loved for many of my 27 years. What do you know about Maya Angelou? Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1928 during a period of racial segregation & injustice, the painful abuse, & heartbreak Maya Angelou experienced at too young an age are major themes in her works; however, equally featured are her celebrations of blackness, the joy of being a woman, & the triumph of defying the systems and ideologies of this world that existed to break her down. She also played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, & went on to publish several works and produce multimedia focusing on her experiences and innate wisdom. Angelou passed away in 2014, but not before leaving a lasting impact on the literary world and well-beyond for generations.
Maya Angelou is also known for her wisdom & has been popularly quoted with some of the most humbling & useful life advice, such as, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”, “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”, “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”, & my personal favs: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”, & “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time".
I will let you know right now, Maya Angelou is the best to ever do it. I’ve had this book for a very long time, having acquired it at some point in grade school & held onto it ever since. Poetry has always been a very comforting and familiar medium for me, & I find myself gravitating back to this book often because of how it makes me feel. Simply put, this collection is good for your soul, and if you ever get a chance, I recommend accessing the audio version of her works as they are often read by Maya Angelou herself ❣️
Maya Angelou is also known for her wisdom & has been popularly quoted with some of the most humbling & useful life advice, such as, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”, “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”, “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”, & my personal favs: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty”, & “when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time".
I will let you know right now, Maya Angelou is the best to ever do it. I’ve had this book for a very long time, having acquired it at some point in grade school & held onto it ever since. Poetry has always been a very comforting and familiar medium for me, & I find myself gravitating back to this book often because of how it makes me feel. Simply put, this collection is good for your soul, and if you ever get a chance, I recommend accessing the audio version of her works as they are often read by Maya Angelou herself ❣️
November 2, 2022
There has only been one Maya Angelou. Being a writer and a poet, she had the skill to engage everyone and everywhere, both high and low. Her poems, ranging from the merry play on words, the tearjerking experiences from her past to the hope-instilling epics with important messages to humanity, has always been garishly poignant, even after her death.
I’ll share my favourite poem from her. It doesn’t matter how many times I read it. I still get the chills. It still feels like I’m reading it for the first time.
Still I rise, 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.
I’ll share my favourite poem from her. It doesn’t matter how many times I read it. I still get the chills. It still feels like I’m reading it for the first time.
Still I rise, 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.
April 29, 2024
For April, I wanted to read a book of poems that signified growth. Maya Angelou’s “The Complete Poetry” collection was one of the most perfect reads for this. She has a myriad of poems about love, loss, and of course, freedom fighting given she is a civil rights and women's rights activist. One poem that significantly represents Miss Maya Angelou as a whole is entitled "Still I Rise", I found this poem to be very expressive. In the way she so eloquently states “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 (Lines 1-4). These lines so elegantly express her feelings toward liberation and survival of the civil rights movement. She is excellent at expressing feelings of oppression and racial injustice I recommend her writing to all audiences from the ages 3-100 but I would say most of her pieces fit into the target audience of women ages 18-24. Especially because I grew up reading Maya Angelou I think the younger you are exposed to her magnificent work the better. If I had to give this book a rating I give it 100/10.
July 23, 2022
This was my first experience of Maya Angelou other than quotes I see attributes to her.
Often when I read a poetry or short story collection, I make a ‘mark’ of whether I liked a specific poem/story or not. It’s fun to look back and see what percentage of an author’s stories or a poet’s poems that I liked, and it’s a good way to compare how much I enjoyed different collections.
I am a tough reviewer - a poem or story needs to strongly resonate with me to get a positive mark. So I was quite surprised to see that I marked off 22 of Angelou’s poems! It may not seem like a lot, but comparatively, it is.
I liked her more famous poems better (still I rise, caged bird, etc) than the obscure ones. However, I was lucky enough to have a friend/Maya Angelou expert break down her life and background, so I was able to understand most of the poems.
Often when I read a poetry or short story collection, I make a ‘mark’ of whether I liked a specific poem/story or not. It’s fun to look back and see what percentage of an author’s stories or a poet’s poems that I liked, and it’s a good way to compare how much I enjoyed different collections.
I am a tough reviewer - a poem or story needs to strongly resonate with me to get a positive mark. So I was quite surprised to see that I marked off 22 of Angelou’s poems! It may not seem like a lot, but comparatively, it is.
I liked her more famous poems better (still I rise, caged bird, etc) than the obscure ones. However, I was lucky enough to have a friend/Maya Angelou expert break down her life and background, so I was able to understand most of the poems.
May 1, 2022
Maya Angelou’s “The Complete Poetry” is a diverse, well-written collection of poems. Throughout the collection, the poems get longer and longer. Each of the poems tells a unique story. Each of them uses different or at times similar styles where each one fits the story. Angelou has done a great job at finding the best methods to show a message in her poems. Overall, this was an interesting read and it was completely different from any other reads before. This has made me more interested in looking at more poems. I would recommend people to read some of her poems, but would just tell them if they want, they could read the whole thing.
April 20, 2023
just for a time —
oh how you used to walk
with that insouciant smile
i liked to hear you talk
and your style
pleased me for a while
you were my early love
new as a day breaking in spring
you were the image of
everything
that caused me to sing.
i don’t like reminiscing
nostalgia is not my forté
i don’t spill tears
on yesterday’s years
but honestly makes me say,
you were a precious pearl
how i loved to see you shine,
you were the perfect girl.
and you were mine.
for a time.
for a time.
just for a time.
oh how you used to walk
with that insouciant smile
i liked to hear you talk
and your style
pleased me for a while
you were my early love
new as a day breaking in spring
you were the image of
everything
that caused me to sing.
i don’t like reminiscing
nostalgia is not my forté
i don’t spill tears
on yesterday’s years
but honestly makes me say,
you were a precious pearl
how i loved to see you shine,
you were the perfect girl.
and you were mine.
for a time.
for a time.
just for a time.
August 14, 2023
I’ve been carrying this book around with me trying to read a poem a day to ponder on - but I’ll be honest, time got the best of me. That being said, some of Maya Angelou’s work sent shivers down my spine and tears down my face, my top favorites being Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise, and Mother. She’s just absolutely unparalleled in the world of poetry.
Favorites:
• On working white liberals
• Phenomenal woman*
• Just for a time
• Woman work
• The memory
• Still I rise*
• Caged bird
• Weekend glory
• Human family
• Our grandmothers
• Mother*
• Prayer
Favorites:
• On working white liberals
• Phenomenal woman*
• Just for a time
• Woman work
• The memory
• Still I rise*
• Caged bird
• Weekend glory
• Human family
• Our grandmothers
• Mother*
• Prayer
September 10, 2022
Initially I wanted to give this book 3 stars. The first collection was kind of hard to read. I didn't understand most of it. But after reading the other two collections, I realized the problem wasn't so much that I couldn't understand it, but I couldn't relate. My most bookmarked pages were in "Still I Rise." This book is my introduction into not only poetry, but literary devices and form. I'm gonna go back and reread my bookmarked pages so I can study them. Overall, I enjoyed the book.
June 27, 2024
Here's some quotes I loved:
"They grow the fruit
But eat the rind."
"My sin lies in not screaming loud"
"Will I be less
Dead because I wrote this
Poem or you more because
you read it
long years hence"
"You may trod me in the dirt
but still, like dust, I'll rise"
"But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in"
"She'd find hidden meaning
in every pair of pants,
then hurry home to be alone
and write about romance"
"They grow the fruit
But eat the rind."
"My sin lies in not screaming loud"
"Will I be less
Dead because I wrote this
Poem or you more because
you read it
long years hence"
"You may trod me in the dirt
but still, like dust, I'll rise"
"But ain't I lucky I can still breathe in"
"She'd find hidden meaning
in every pair of pants,
then hurry home to be alone
and write about romance"
May 23, 2022
*3.5
I really enjoyed a lot of this collection. After having read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and not really resonating with it, I was hesitant to read more of Maya Angelou's work, but I'm glad I did. I much preferred her poetic writing, as she has strong word choices that really surprised me and grabbed my attention.
I really enjoyed a lot of this collection. After having read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and not really resonating with it, I was hesitant to read more of Maya Angelou's work, but I'm glad I did. I much preferred her poetic writing, as she has strong word choices that really surprised me and grabbed my attention.
February 10, 2024
I was introduced to maya’s poetry in the film poetic justice, and when my professor showed us the caged bird poem. I had to get this book though I’m a little late to the party. It was well written, and I recognized some of the poems. The ones that stood out to me most was Mother, as well as the poem dedicated to Nelson Mandela
February 12, 2025
Maya Angelou, the GOAT. Still I Rise, Phenomenal Woman, and Caged Bird are in here, so those are obvious standouts. Some other favorites: When I Think About Myself, Times-Square-Shoeshine-Composition, On Working White Liberals, America, Song for the Old Ones, Little Girl Speakings, Men, Woman Work, Life Doesn't Frighten Me, Weekend Glory.
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