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Home  /   Community  /   We Love You, Thank You and Work to Honor You

We Love You, Thank You and Work to Honor You

We Love You, Thank You and Work to Honor You

An Open Letter
To: Dr. Maya Angelou
Subject:  We Love You, Thank You and Work to Honor You

Dear Dr. Angelou,

Even in your passing today, your heart, thoughts and spirit continue to live and thrive in all of us that you have touched, moved and inspired throughout your life. The full spectrum of life’s richness, pain, possibility and disparity is ever-present in your story.

Mindful and loving, muse, mother, artist, academic and humanitarian—you have been so much to so many—our high priestess for living passionately, loving the opportunity that life is and in the process, advocating, to the fullest extent possible, for the well being of all.

With little irony, in a statement released today, President Obama quoted your own words to convey his sentiment and one shared by so many, about the news of your passing. Penned by you last year regarding the loss of your personal friend Nelson Mandela, you wrote

no sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again, and bring the dawn.

In his statement today President Obama added several personal thoughts, many of which will long live on in the hearts of others, two of which I desire to reiterate here

you helped generations of Americans find their rainbow amidst the clouds, and inspired the rest of us to be our best selves.

With a kind word and a strong embrace, she, (Dr. Angelou), had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have something to offer.

Thank you Dr. Angelou for all that you have been. Please continue to grace us with the presence of your warm embrace, keen observation, powerful perspective, inclusive disposition, tenacious strength, inspired commitment, shared voice and advocacy for all.

In the many pursuits associated with achieving our shared mission of creating a healthy, just and empowered world for all, we remain arm and arm, as we were yesterday, today and always will be.

Team Oceanseed Project

Postscript:

We include below a few of our favorites from your amazing, powerful body of work, that we have enjoyed reading aloud today with each other in your honor.

  • I’ve Learned
  • Caged Bird
  • Still I Rise
  • Willie
  • Maya Angelou on living

I’ve Learned

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. 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.”

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun 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.

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 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.

Still I Rise

Listen to a recording of Maya Angelou read her poem “Still I Rise,”
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod 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 backyard.
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.

Willie

Willie was a man without fame
Hardly anybody knew his name.
Crippled and limping, always walking lame,
He said, “I keep on movin’
Movin’ just the same.”
Solitude was the climate in his head
Emptiness was the partner in his bed,
Pain echoed in the steps of his tread,
He said, “I keep on followin’
Where the leaders led.”
I may cry and I will die,
But my spirit is the soul of every spring,
Watch for me and you will see
That I’m present in the songs that children sing.”
People called him “Uncle,” “Boy” and “Hey,”
Said, “You can’t live through this another day.”
Then, they waited to hear what he would say.
He said, “I’m living
In the games that children play.
“You may enter my sleep, people my dreams,
Threaten my early morning’s ease,
But I keep comin’ followin’ laughin’ cryin’,
Sure as a summer breeze.
“Wait for me, watch for me.
My spirit is the surge of open seas.
Look for me, ask for me,
I’m the rustle in the autumn leaves.
“When the sun rises
I am the time.
When the children sing
I am the Rhyme.

Maya Angelou on living

You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

Sources:

  • “I’ve Learned”
  • Recording of Maya Angelou read her poem “And Still I Rise” courtesy of NPR
  • “And Still I Rise” from And Still I Rise.
  • “Phenomenal Woman” from And Still I Rise.
  • “Caged Bird” from Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?
  • The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House Inc., 1994)
  • Maya Angelou interview from the April 2011 edition of O, the Oprah Magazine (2011)
  • Header Photo
    Left: President Barack Obama awards the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Maya Angelou in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House February 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) http://goo.gl/CRv8J2
    Right: Maya Angelou reciting her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at the 1993 Presidential Inauguration of William J. Clinton. U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. January 20, 1993. (William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum) http://goo.gl/vYFoDF
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