Still I Rise by 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 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 rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

My Emulation

I used to think courage meant keeping
everything to yourself.
That strength was bottling things up to deal
with on your own.
That crying was weakness and vulnerability
was foolish.
It’s not.

Somehow you’ve managed to teach me that courage
is sharing your burdens and real strength
is sharing your soul, even if
tears fall as you do it and you’ve left feeling
more vulnerable than ever.

This courage is different than the courage
you’ve tried on before.
It’s fierce, And strong
And makes you feel warm.
It’s blazing, And daring.
It flows to the floor ,
It’s empowering,
And bright, And dark
And propelling

Only you knew the depth of the ocean my heart lies in,
and you have found the courage to dive deep enough to find it.
Now you know it takes courage to be yourself, to be different,
in the face of tolerance and despite prejudice.
It takes courage to open up, to let someone in.

Are you afraid! Afraid yo get hurt or retained by pride.
Be brave a little, everyday have the courage to be you.

I wrote this poem because sometimes in life we need courage. We need courage to keep us going during the trials of life. It takes courage to be something, to be someone and to be yourself. Sometimes we need a little courage to keep us going in life. The courage to be able to share your story to others to encourage them that they are not the only ones going through what they are going through. That’s what part of courage is.