Monday, March 12, 2007

Phenomenal Woman

Phenomenal Woman Maya Angelou

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.

3 comments:

Christie said...

LOVE that. Thanks for sharing!

mary plus vince said...

that reminds me of my mom! (didn't rachael put that on a cd she made for her?!)

Yay for women! I went to a thing called the mommy monologes last night with V-Lo (for a class of his) and real women read papers they wrote about womanhood and motherhood ... it was very interesting!

anna jo said...

it reminds me of rachael. . . she has maya angelou reading this poem on some spoken word cd of hers (which is probably where mom got it). . . and I can just hear that deep, rich, powerful woman's voice reciting the poem. . . I wish everyone could hear it; I think it would make the poem that much more powerful. there is definitely strength and beauty in womanhood!