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| Cosmic Tarot, US Games 1988 |
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 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
Beautiful poem! And I rather love the card image, too. A real feeling of bursting free of restraints, rising up joyous and strong, awakening to a new dawn... :)
ReplyDeleteI think the girl brushing the dirt off her shoulder has the exact same attitude as the voice in the poem. :)
DeleteLovely poem Carla, really uplifting words. Thoese long horns on the top of the card remind me of a Terry Gilliam animation in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it. :)
DeleteDid you see my suggestions for your cosmic Tarot deck, I think I correctly identified a couple of actors in the deck xx
DeleteHi , yes, sorry Tim! I forget to respond to everything sometimes, but I did agree with your ideas about those images! :D
DeleteCarla, Thank you so much for sharing this poem. I enjoyed it very much.
ReplyDeleteLove Maya Angelou. Glad you like the poem, you're welcome. :)
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