Author:
Taxonomy upgrade extras:
A friend just sent this to me and I LOVED IT! Perhaps you have seen it already, but for the rest, here it is . . .
'MAYA ANGELOU'S'
BEST POEM EVER
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams,
wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
one friend who always makes her laugh..
and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
a good piece of furniture
not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE.
a feeling of control over her destiny..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.....
how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder...
and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...
but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
how to live alone...
even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....
whom she can trust, whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go.....
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a charming Inn in the woods....
when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...
and a year...
Comments
Do you really think so?
I'm not arguing with your sentiment or that of the poem, but do you really think it is her best? My nominees:
The Lesson
I keep on dying again.
Veins collapse, opening like the
Small fists of sleeping
Children.
Memory of old tombs,
Rotting flesh and worms do
Not convince me against
The challenge. The years
And cold defeat live deep in
Lines along my face.
They dull my eyes, yet
I keep on dying,
Because I love to live.
Alone
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.
I would have put Still I Rise here too, but I've probably filled enough space. Also, a quick google search (because I had never heard this one before, and it seemed to lack -- sassiness, I guess.) told me it was probably written by Pamela Redmond Satran.
Again, nothing wrong with the idea. But not "the best poem" or best Maya Angelou poem IMHO.
Joy, Jan
I Always Have Trouble
Comparing poems. Cynthia, yours is uplifting, but the ones that Jan quotes really kick me where I live,
Joanne
This could just as easily be set..
what EVERY PERSON SHOULD ...
Well done though, and appropriate historically. The vast majority of our cultural background is that of a male dominated society, where the males own. There are/have been exceptions where women owned property, and inherritance was through the female line, but they are few and far between. (The Chactaw being an example, if memory serves... Though there, the men were still the primary warriors/hunters.)
Annette
Update!
Last year, Glamour Magazine published Pamela Redmond Satran's update of her original 1997 article. It was that article which introduced her much-circulated and mis-attributed list to the world.
Here is the update: http://www.glamour.com/lifestyle/articles/2007/02/haveandkno...
One of the reasons it doesn't have much "snap" as a poem, is that it isn't. It's just a list.