Passages – Angelou

For this edition of Passages, I chose something that reflects where I am in my personal journey. It’s from Maya Angelou’s poem, Still I Rise, published in 1978.

I’ve been gravitating toward empowerment themes lately. So I suppose it was only fitting that this passage came to me when I sat down to write this post.

… 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 …
I don’t know that I can add much more to the late Ms. Angelou’s words, other than to say that I’m not done yet.
I’ll continue rising. And I won’t regret it.
What are some of your favorite passages?