Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size 
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I say

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 of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
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.

Woe betide me!

I have no aim, no goals, no aspirations
Life's an endless stretch of days
Memories of a happy past
Glows occasionally in this waste

My emotions are dead beat
I feel anger, envy, or hate
Resentment surges in sudden heat
against this pathetic fate

Oh I knew joy once, friends, love, and laughter
People needed me and I shone
with warmth and care they proferred,
but now I am alone.

It's a strange and unhappy stage
filled with silence - yet no harmony
I look down and disparage
the stranger that conquered me

Sleep, peaceful sleep
how much I long for it!
Wealth or glory does not reap
hours of solemnity

The slob that does not think
does not act, move, or belong
stole the remnants of my being
till nothing more can go wrong

A defused spirit lies
sunk in a dark well of melancholy
what miracle can revive
this soul in agony?
..................................................................

This too shall pass...

When bitterness rises in a wave
and submerges positive thought
Act, act and force it out
don't lose time down the path

You mull on it, discuss it, and lose sleep
but it doesn't go away
Only the panic strikes you down to lose
all you won, all your life

There are many paths you can take
and pursue different goals
life is hard or a piece of cake
if you can make it so

Do not take the downward slump
and slide down to doom
If you lose a step, keep hope
cling on, and see it blossom

When the black hole in your mind
draws you down to destroy
prove your might and grind 
the demon to dust in the mind's eye.

When things don't go your way
the venomous despondency clouds
and grips you like a prey
fight your mind and win it out!

There are sudden twists and turns
look back when you're at the top
and see how far you've come
but right now just make that hop.

Shuba

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