To God be the Glory for the life and times of Maya Angelou

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On my way home this afternoon, I was checking out my Facebook feeds (I know I am not supposed to do that but I was stuck in traffic) my heart was struck crushed when I read R.I.P. Maya Angelou which one of my friend’s had posted. It hit me so hard that I just started to cry. It felt as if I were losing a very close friend. (Now I really wish I hadn’t checked my FB feeds while being stuck in traffic).Just the other day I read her post on her FB page that her doctor thought it would be best for not to go to an award ceremony. Also her thanks to all the birthday wishes on April 4^th when she had just turned 86.Despite the sadness, I knew about her beliefs towards death, so now she is resting in peace. I am deeply grateful for having read many of her novels and poems although I still believe she had much more to teach us.

My all time favorite poem written by this great poet is “And Still I Rise”. Among her many novels my favorite is The Heart of a Woman (1981). Her last book Mom & Me & Mom (2013) made me laugh and made me cry, inspiring.

 As the great poet, author, educator, actor, director and activist wrote: " 'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' and she sure made me, and other fans I am sure, feel loved in her lifetime. This quote has been shared so many times on the social networks. It is one that I always remember.

The world has lost a great icon. Maya Angelou, may you rest in peace. Thank you very much for all the inspiring words.
May 28, 2014 Todos os direitos reservados a Meire Marion.

And Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

Maya Angelou

Here is a video where Dr. Maya Angelou reads her poem “And Still I Rise”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0