Care 2: Dr. Maya Angelou: Her Lifetime of Moments Took Our Breath Away

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.care2.com/causes/dr-maya-angelou-her-lifetime-of-moments-took-our-breath-away.html





I learned of her death as I was making breakfast for my son. My eyes welled up with tears as I buttered his toast, unable to grasp the reality that this was the first moment in a world without her. I realized how important she was to me. As I continued our morning routine, I would remember my last moment with her.

In 2007, at a crossroads in my life, I attended a speaker series at the Los Angeles Music Center. It was February 23 and my attendance was part of my new life plan to do the things I enjoyed. I had decided that year to have a child. Not in a relationship, I was comfortable with my decision to pursue my choice of single motherhood, but thought I should take one last chance at “putting myself out there” just in case there was someone willing to share the journey with me.

The speaker that night was Maya Angelou.

From the moment she stepped on stage, she took my breath away. She shared stories of her life, including those that were shared in her 1969 book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Through laughter, song and poem she told stories of her friends Malcolm and Martin. She would perform the poem Phenomenal Woman with a sensuality that would belie her nearly 80 years of age. Never arrogant, but always proud, she talked of her knowing six languages, her honorary degrees and the incredible joys of a life that would never seem possible to a former high school dropout and teenage mother.

FULL story at link.

[mother earth]

1. Truly, a Phenomenal Woman, the title of one of her very best and my favorite poems...

she was a gift to us all, an icon held in highest regard to all who value family and integrity. I will always remember her poem written for Clinton's inauguration...what a presence she had...her respect for words and her wisdom was always palpable.

"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."

-- from "Phenomenal Woman,"


Her words of wisdom, "When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time." will echo in time. She was that "phenomenal".