Maya Angelou has died

[HipChick]

http://triadnc.twcnews.com/content/news/708139/poet--educator-and-civil-rights-advocate-dr--maya-angelou--86--dies#sthash.mZ0ZKhlu.uxfs

[bigtree]

1. god, no

. . . such a wonderful woman and such a wonderful life . . . confirmed?

[HipChick]

2. Confirmed..

[bigtree]

6. devastated

...

[AlbertCat]

51. confirmed

Meh!

Good civil rights works and raising awareness.

Sophomoric poetry.

[Ecumenist]

70. Wow.....Apparently, you're are an outlier and more than a bit rude. SMDH

[octoberlib]

3. Nooooo. Rest In Peace .

http://www.businessinsider.com/maya-angelou-has-died-2014-5

[PotatoChip]

4. Her voice will be missed terribly.

Last edited Wed May 28, 2014, 11:41 AM - Edit history (1)

RIP Dr. Angelou

[MohRokTah]

5. .

[seabeyond]

7. ahhhhhh. and in peace. what a contribution she made in life. with grace....

always.

[DURHAM D]

47. Amen.

I noticed that yesterday you posted "I Rise" and when I saw it I thought about what a treasure she is.

[seabeyond]

50. yes.

[liberal N proud]

8. RIP

[shenmue]

9. Noooooooooo

I saw her speak once. She was legendary.

Rest in peace.

[Peacetrain]

10. Oh no no no

Such a loss..she will be missed

[historylovr]

11. ...

[el_bryanto]

12. That's too bad - she was great. nt

[panader0]

13. I know why the caged bird sings

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

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.

[Orrex]

14. Shit.

[aikoaiko]

15. Very sad news.

She spoke on my campus once and revealed sheepishly that she had a penchant for Robert Service.

Here's to you, Dr. Angelou:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee...

for the rest: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174348

[warrior1]

16. ...a lady always knows when to leave.

Rest in Peace

[gollygee]

17. Oh my

<3

[boston bean]

18. Rest in Peace Maya.

[MineralMan]

19. A wonderful person is gone, but her

work will never die. She will live on through her words.

[Amaya]

20. I loved her

[theHandpuppet]

21. Oh noooooooo!!

[Jack Rabbit]

22. ()

[justiceischeap]

23. As someone posted on Facebook (if you believe in heaven)

Heaven just became a cooler place to hang.

I saw her speak years ago in York, PA and it touched me deeply. Rest in peace, Maya.

[The Wielding Truth]

24. Truly special. I will miss her and her great works.

So sad..

[Le Taz Hot]

25. Oh my god!

I am so sorry to hear this. She's been such a major influence on so many lives, including mine. I used to teach parolees and I had a Maya Angelou quote in my classroom:

"You do what you know. And when you know better, you do better."

RIP, dear Lady. Your work touched millions.

[G_j]

26. Give birth again To the dream.

Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.

Dr. Maya Angelou

[TuxedoKat]

27. How sad

I loved her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her poems. RIP Ms. Angelou.

[TygrBright]

28. A life that enriched us all. Gentle passage, honored bard. n/t

[Lee-Lee]

29. No no no no no

I had the distinct pleasure of getting to experience her reading her work in a small setting, and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

The world is a little darker place today.

[malaise]

30. Good grief

This is a shock

[LoisB]

31. What a loss. She will be sorely missed.

[Uncle Joe]

32. "On the Pulse of Morning"

RIP Maya and thanks for the inspiration.

[bravenak]

33. I am hurt.

Such a loss.
Phenomenal Woman
BY 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 for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

[NJCher]

40. always one of my favorites

A student gave me a cassette tape of her reading her poetry many, many years ago. I still have it. Now I have to think about how I can listen to it again.

Never mind; it's prob'ly on youtube.

Does anyone remember her interview with Harry Smith after Obama's first election?

I teach poetry and so she would inevitably come up in our readings and discussions.


Thank you , Maya Angelou, for a life well lived and for enriching us all.




Cher

[bravenak]

43. I felt like she wrote that for me.

It makes my head tingle. A feeling of connectedness with all women. I am going to have to youtube her myself. Always my favorite. Alice Walker too, with her short stories and the color purple.

[randys1]

55. She ate dinner at my house...how about THAT!

see my other post

[bravenak]

60. What!!!!

Take pictures? It didn't happen if no pics!!!! bout to go check you out.
Is this misandry? Or just randy privilege?

[randys1]

61. LOL

Now you know somebody who knew her, sort of anyway.

[Eleanors38]

80. My kind of woman. Thanks for posting.

[Stellar]

34. What a sweet soul...

she will be missed.

[ProSense]

35. RIP

Dr. Angelou, Maya

[MerryBlooms]

36. What a beautiful legacy this woman has left behind. Rest in Peace, dear soul.

[myrna minx]

37. Her beautiful voice and grace will be missed.

[kdmorris]

38. So sad, but she had a long and passionate life.

Still, I will miss her work...

[polly7]

39. So sad.

She will be greatly missed. Such a beautiful, expressive woman whose writings picked me up during many overwhelming times, I'm sure they did the same for millions of others. Such a beautiful soul.

[Egnever]

41. aww

A great loss for the world. May she rest in peace.

[Skidmore]

42. Humanity has lost a great soul.

The heavens have gained a new bright star.

[MissDeeds]

44. So sad to learn of her passing

A great spirit for the ages.

[2naSalit]

45. ...

[toby jo]

46. One of Life's best moments, breathes, and reflections.

… for that's how we live
where light outshines wrong
playing amongst
old root, for song….

Maya, one of our 'old roots'.

[niyad]

48. rest in peace, gentle soul. your work lives on.

[bigwillq]

49. RIP

[SidDithers]

52. Kick for visibility...

Very sad.

Sid

[noiretextatique]

53. she mentioned a health crisis on Facebook

She was the first poet I ever read, she inspires me to write...and to find my own voice. RIP, great lady.

[randys1]

54. A true American Icon...loved her deeply

My mother and her befriended each other in the 60's in a nightclub, my mother was wearing a hat that Maya fancied, so my mother gave her the hat and invited her to dinner at my house, when i was like 12 yrs old.

Her and her musical accompaniment/boyfriend came to dinner.

Wow.

[bravenak]

62. Lucky you!

People used to really dress to impress back then. My grandma was into hats and shoes so fierce.
I wish i had been there, with you.

[randys1]

63. My dad wrote her a letter after my mom died to remind Maya of that event

and Maya did remember and wrote us back, I have the letter but have to find it.

The odd thing was my dad couldnt recall the name of the nightclub, but Maya did in her response, wow.

[bravenak]

64. You better find it.

Or i'll come to your house. And visit for a long time eating your food and being lazy.

[deurbano]

69. What a great memory!

[MadrasT]

57. .

[Grey]

58. ....

[flamingdem]

59. rip Maya Angelou

[bloom]

65. She left an amazing legacy and example. n/t

[MADem]

66. We have lost an American National Treasure. nt

[StarryNite]

67. The world is a sadder place today

" My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors."
Maya Angelou

[kdmorris]

68. A Brave and Startling Truth

This was always my favorite:

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

[scarletwoman]

76. That is an awesome poem! Thank you so much for posting it!

A great soul has moved on...

[Duppers]

71. She will be missed by millions of people.

[secondwind]

72. She was also a hard-working and proud single mother

[maced666]

73. We Are All God's Creation

Find God Within Yourself
Maya Angelou's Faith Made Her A Courageous 'Child Of God'
“I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute. ”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/28/maya-angelou-god_n_5403939.html

[Liberalynn]

74. She was such an inspiration!

May she rest in peace!

[Solly Mack]

75. ...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

77. She spoke at the auditorium of my High School back in the 70s.

[Stryst]

78. This is a loss for humanity

She came to my college (Evergreen State) to give a speech, and while we were waiting for the event to start, she rapped "The Raven" for us.

And she was nice. Genuinely, warmly nice. And that's the best compliment I think anyone can ever have said about them.

[JI7]

81. i always thought she came across that way

she is one of those people who makes me try to be a better person. especially if i'm upset about something and the anger i feel sometimes.

[Eleanors38]

79. Strong, up front, honest, and with a respect that invites you in.

[AverageJoe90]

82. Truly, one of the greats of world literature has passed. Rest In Peace, Maya Angelou.

May your memory live on forever.