Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman

By Maya Angelou

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.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,  

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.  

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.  

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,  

And the flash of my teeth,  

The swing in my waist,  

And the joy in my feet.  

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered  

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,  

They say they still can’t see.  

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,  

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.  

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.  

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,  

The bend of my hair,  

the palm of my hand,  

The need for my care.  

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Poem 6

Sunday’s at Granny

I love Sunday’s at granny’s it is the best

 Granny gets up in the morning cooks but doesn’t rest

But before you go in to have a seat you smell:

Cabbage

And cornbread

And roast

 And steak

You hear people talking while sitting

Laughing

And smiling

Having a wonderful time

Granny makes the best food I’ve ever tasted

People come over to granny’s Sunday evening

And great conversation

Tasty food

You’ll never forget

What a Sunday you’ve had

That will always never be bad.

This poem is inspired by “Knoxville Tennessee” by Nikki Giovanni.

Poem 5

Florida Dreams

I want to go to Florida

Such great things I heard

Sunny skies,

Palm trees,

Shopping,

Fun in the sun with family

I want to go to Florida.

Disneyworld

“Where all your dreams come true”

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daffy

All the sites I want to see

I want to go to Florida.

This poem is inspired by “Trips” one of the chapters in Good Poems.

Poem 4

Such a Clutz

You know all those times you wanted to be cute,

Walking in your favorite heels

Twisting and turning

Telling yourself “Heel toe” “Heel toe”

Here comes that nice sweet young man you like

Your heart starts to pound “boom boom” “boom boom”

Then he starts to talk to you

Remember all those times you wanted to look good

Wells you messed just messed it up with your clumsy self.

This poem is inspired by Failure, one of the chapters of Good Poems.

Poem 3

A Changed Young Lady

There once was a girl who lied,

who listened to whatever she heard,

 who gossiped all the time,

 but there was one person who could get through to her

 the one who created the heavens and the earth,

 he changed her mind

he changed how she looked at thing

he changed the way she thought about herself

he is the way the truth and the life

The Almighty

God

This poem is inspired by God and the poem called “The Changed Man” a poem by Robert Phillips.

Poem 2

Old to New

Once there was,

“I love you just the way you are”

But now,

“Long hair, thick waist, cute face”

Once there was,

“Beautiful admirable charming lady”

But now,

“Steamy hot sexy whore”

Once there was,

Meaning, love happy careful melody

But now,

There is sex sorrowful and meaningless music.

This poem is inspired by “Ooly Pop a Cow” by David Huddle.

Poem 1

My Routine

When I wake up in the morning there are always things I must do:

A student, has to get up early in the morning jump in and out the shower, wash my face brush my teeth comb my hair all before the bus comes but there is always a voice saying

“Hurry up little girl your slow poking around.” So I try to hurry but I have to admire myself in the mirror one last time before I go out the door to catch the bus these are things I must do before I go.

This poem I wrote is inspired by the poem “Routine” by Arthur Guiterman.

Introduction

Introduction

Dear Readers,

My name is Malika Smith and I created this book. I am a freshman at the Carbondale Community High School. I am 15 years old. I am from Carbondale, Illinois. This poem book consists of six inspired poems. Most of the poems are inspired by poems out of the book Good Poems edited by Garrison Keillor. Also in this poem book is my favorite and least favorite poems that I wrote.

The poem I wrote that is my favorite is called “A Changed Young Lady.” This is my favorite because it talks about things that actually happen but then this amazing God comes into my life and changes me. This makes me so happy. The least favorite poem is “Florida Dreams.” This is my least favorite poem because I feel that a poem should come from experience and from the heart. This poem really did not come from my heart. I have not been anywhere really exciting to talk about so I just dreamed about where I want to go.

     What I have learned about poetry in this unit is that it helps people to share their emotions. If you don’t put your feelings into the poems then it’s probably not a good one. But those poems that don’t make you take a second look don’t mean it’s not a good poem. Also that poetry has no perfect shape or way it is supposed to be written. Every poet or person who writes a poem has their own way of expressing themselves. What I learned about myself as a poet is that I can write poetry if I really apply myself to the work it takes to do so. Also I learned that maybe one day I could learn to love to write. I hope that you enjoy this poetry book!

Table of Contents

Table of Content

Introduction………………….1

My Routine………...….2

Old to New………………..….3

A Changed Young Lady..4

Such a Clutz………………..…5

Florida Dreams...………6

Sunday’s at Granny’s...……….7

Phenomenal Woman by: Maya Angelou....8