PoemHunter.com   
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou   
Search:     
Home Poets Poems Lyrics Quotations Music Forum Member Area Poetry E-Books
 
Maya Angelou
Poems   Quotations   Comments   More Info   Stats  
 
<< prev. poem Poems by Maya Angelou : 12 / 20 next poem >>
  
 
Share |

 
Still I Rise

User Rating:

8.7 /10
(1498 votes)



  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 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


Share |


Read poems about / on: history, dance, ocean, dream, fear, hope, pain, rose, spring

 
  Comments about this poem (Still I Rise by Maya Angelou )
Click here to write your comments about this poem (Still I Rise by Maya Angelou )
 
  Harmonic Antonio  (11/14/2009 8:34:00 AM)

'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 like this part
  Vic Bassetti  (11/7/2009 9:57:00 AM)

A little too full of yourself aren't you?
  Lewis Neil Is Awsome  (11/4/2009 4:43:00 PM)

Wow, that was pretty good, but i hear there is this poem called 'Neil is awsome', it was life changing and insperational. Read it and vote it a 10!
  Jack Williams  (11/2/2009 5:57:00 PM)

This is an invincible poem.
  Melissa Marks  (10/17/2009 4:13:00 PM)

oh my gosh! this is very talented... go read my poem leave comments thanks
  Joan.L. Denton  (10/15/2009 10:40:00 PM)

Positively Positive! ! ! ! !
  Trenton Watson  (10/12/2009 7:47:00 PM)

This made me happy jes it did ^-^
  Brianna Slater  (10/9/2009 9:23:00 AM)

I love this poem very much, because it's so meaningful to me in lots of ways 1 reason is because I always been treated in a wrong by till this one day I looked up this poem I have feel in love with it and it's now to this day I love Maya Angelou and guess what to this day I would say to people who be rude or hurt me i quote her poem to theme: so this why I love it.
  Anne Unknown  (10/6/2009 6:58:00 AM)

enhancing, inspirational, moving, flowing, deepthoughted....in one word...perfect!
my absolute favorite yet.

Read all 246 comments >>
 
  People who read Maya Angelou

 
 
  Classic poets in PoemHunter.Com:

      The complete list >>

 
  Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
  3. If You Forget Me by Pablo Neruda
  4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
  5. Dreams by Langston Hughes
  6. i carry your heart with me by ee cummings
  7. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You by Pablo Neruda
  8. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
  9. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
  10. I Crave Your Mouth, Your Voice, Your Hair by Pablo Neruda
  11. Television by Roald Dahl
  12. One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein
  13. Warning by Jenny Joseph
  14. As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes
  15. A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe
  16. Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
  17. If by Rudyard Kipling
  18. On the Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan
  19. Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
  20. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth
  21. Alone by Edgar Allan Poe
  22. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
  23. The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes
  24. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
  25. All That is Gold Does Not Glitter by JRR Tolkien
The complete list of Top 500 Poems >>
  Top 500 Poets

  1. Pablo Neruda
  2. Langston Hughes
  3. Maya Angelou
  4. Charles Bukowski
  5. ee cummings
  6. Shel Silverstein
  7. William Shakespeare
  8. Dylan Thomas
  9. Spike Milligan
  10. Billy Collins
  11. Emily Dickinson
  12. Khalil Gibran
  13. Sylvia Plath
  14. Dorothy Parker
  15. Elizabeth Bishop
  16. Ted Hughes
  17. Roald Dahl
  18. Robert Frost
  19. Walt Whitman
  20. Allen Ginsberg
  21. William Blake
  22. Edgar Allan Poe
  23. Mary Oliver
  24. Robert Browning
  25. William Wordsworth
The complete list of Top 500 Poets >>
 
 

 Search in the World Poetry Database => 

 Search:    tips
Hide the search box!
 
 
  E-MAIL THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND
Found this page interesting? Recommend it to your friend!     Your E-mail:    Friend's Email:      
 

(c) Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge..  About Us | Copyright notice | Privacy statement | Help
11/20/2009 5:33:51 PM. #.34# You Are Here: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Home | Poets | Poems | Free Poetry eBooks | Contests | Sites | Submit a Poem | Manage Your Poems | GameGar | Contact Us

Christmas Poems | Love Poems | Pablo Neruda | Death Poems | Sad Poems | Birthday Poems | Wedding Poems | Annabel Lee | Sorry Poems