As you all may have learned by now, world renowned author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou dearly departed earlier this morning (May 28) at her home in Winston-Salem, NC.
To say Angelou’s life was accomplished would be a mere euphemism. Apart from being a high school dropout and a single mother at 17, Angelou was also a victim of rape and incest. Despite the atrocities she experienced at the hand’s of her own mother’s negligence, she managed to become a national treasure as a literary icon and poet laureate, lending example to the idea that no life experience should be undervalued.
Needless to say, all this is but a half-assed (and ultimately unneeded) attempt to praise a woman writer whose words, literally, changed my life. Very few spirits moved me the way hers did. Some of the joys I experienced was because of the fact Maya Angelou was writing poetry.
In light of her passing (she was 86), we present to you a few of our favorite quotes by the great Miss Maya Angelou. Thumb through the following pages for a few words to remember her by.
Rest In Peace.
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Photos: WENN
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” (– Gather Together in My Name)
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”
“To be left alone on the tightrope of youthful unknowing is to experience the excruciating beauty of full freedom and the threat of eternal indecision.” (– I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings)
“We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay – and rise!”
“Here on the pulse of this new day, You may have the grace to look up and out, And into your sister’s eyes, into Your brother’s face, your country, And say simply, Very simply, With hope, Good morning.” (– On The Pulse Of Morning)
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” (– The Power Of Hope)
“In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
“… 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.” (– Phenomenal Woman)
