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Phenomenal Woman
3
October 8th, 2009Inner Minx, Life Candy
Today is National Poetry day and to celebrate I’d love to share my favourite poem of all time with you, it’s called Phenomenal Woman and it’s by poet, author, activist, producer, actor, director and inspir-o girl, Maya Angelou. I have this poem hanging in the boudoir of the Pink Palace – buy yours here – so that it’s the first thing I read every morning and the last thing I read at night – I love it, hope you do too…
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 womanPhenomenally.
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.Care to share your favourite poems, Minxes?
3 Responses to “Phenomenal Woman”
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Wow, that’s really beautiful. I love poetry and Angelou is so inspiring! Thank you for sharing this. I really love the poems in Ani DiFranco’s book, Verses. You should check it out!
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I first heard this read when I was 13 by my English teacher. I fell in love with it then and it remains one of my favorite pieces today!
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Beautiful, thanks Lisa. I love all of Wendy Cope’s poems but don’t have one to hand. Luckily the email that came after yours was from a dear friend wishing me happy poetry day with this…
Precautionary Poem
In order to keep it warm,
I have bought my heart
a tiny duffel coat,
fur-lined and toggled
with a hood to keep the hail away.Because it has no ability
to absorb even simple information,
for example, Cause and Effect,
I have bought my heart
a Dunce’s hat
to shame it for its foolishness.And because it is frequently restless,
I have bought my heart
a set of flannelette pyjamas
so it will sleep soundly all night
and not wake early,
hopeful and profoundly tired.– by Kathryn Simmonds
Look after your fragile hearts Sassy Minxes everywhere! xx
