Phenomenal Woman

by COMF 24 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  thinkers wife

  Comf,
  Loved that poem. Have always wanted to read some Maya, maybe I will have the impetus now!!
  Thinker makes me feel just like those lovely words!!!
  Thank you for sharing it.
  TW
• 

  mommy

  Comf
  Thank you, I loved that poem. I did a search on the web about her. What a phenomenal woman! I found one of her other poems really touching, and thought I would place here as well. I noticed she has a poem entitled Insomniac But I couldn't find it posted anywhere. I would really be interested in reading this one as well. Again thank you, keep them coming
  wendy

  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
• 

  hippikon

  I had an affair with the perfect woman once. Then the alarm went off and I woke up

  "But it does move"
  Galileo
• 

  LovesDubs

  I AM one of those full figured women, and there are days I wish I could see my bones again, like I did when I was modeling...but then my children come and lay in my lap and nestle their heads against my ampleness and sigh contendedly how they love me, and all those ad campaigns for "less is more" leave my mind.
• 

  JAVA

  Tina,

  Have you ever read her autobiographical novel,"I know why the caged bird sings"?

  I read this book about 9 years ago--it's an outstanding read! I think the book goes beyond "incest," and takes the reader on a black girls experience of growing up in the South. You're right, some "religious right wingers" would have problems with the honest language in the book. Maya Angelou also teaches at a college (I can't recall the name) and is very active in her church. I don't care for her religious views today, but admire her writing and empowerment skills. She's a neat person!

  --JAVA

  ...counting time at the Coffee Shop
• 

  bijou

  There's a Canadian singer by the name of Amy Sky, who put this poem to music.

  From her website:
  

  Just how Amy managed to receive permission to use Dr. Angelou's poem is a fateful if not serendipitous
  story. Unable to reach Dr. Angelou after many unsuccessful attempts, Amy was scheduled to appear on
  the Dini Petty Show, a national CTV television interview program. She soon discovered that Maya
  Angelou was booked on the same program and the two met for the first time in the green room. Amy
  outlined her musical desires to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning poet and Dr. Angelou agreed to allow Sky
  to put the poem to music.

  If you like country music, you might enjoy it.

  MP3 version: http://www.amysky.com/mp3/Phenomenal_Edit.mp3
• 

  JAVA

  hippikon,

  I had an affair with the perfect woman once. Then the alarm went off and I woke up

  lol--Back in my JW days I knew a young man who was on the lookout for the "perfect woman." One day he found her, but she was looking for the perfect man. Life and "alarm" clocks are cruel teachers.

  --JAVA

  ...counting time at the Coffee Shop
• 

  Tina

  Mornin Java!
  I agree with your comment in it's entirety! Yes that book is a great story about the female black experience!
  I've got it somewhere in my library and comf's post reminded me how great a book it is-think I'll re-read it.Toni Morrison is great too.
  My son is doing a paper in college about her work,The Song of Solomon,I can't wait to read it :>(he won't show me a word until it's completed lol)
  Just an aside,he asked for a brief discussion on Circe and Odysseus last night? Wonder if that something he's using in his paper? Sorry just wondering aloud,regards,Tina,handin Java some coffeemate lol.

  Carl Sagan on balancing openness to new ideas with skeptical scrutiny...."if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense,you cannot distinguish useful ideas from worthless ones."
• 

  bijou

  Tina, great book!

  Here's the poem:

  A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
  and floats downstream till the current ends
  and dips his wing in the orange suns 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 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.

  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.

  -Maya Angelou
• 

  JAVA

  Tina,
  

  he asked for a brief discussion on Circe and Odysseus last night?

  I'll bet JanH would be willing to help with his questions; tell your son to email Jan at [email protected] That stuff's too boring for me--sorry about that Jan.

  Thanks for the Coffeemate Tina, but I like it right out of the coffee pot.

  --JAVA

  ...counting time at the Coffee Shop