Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou
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 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,
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/
Maya Angelou is an American poet and writer who was very influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Her poem, "Still I Rise", was one of her literary works during this time. This poem describes the struggles she had faced throughout her life because of discrimination. It also expresses that despite these struggles, she was able to get through it and was able to rise above it all. This was the case for many African Americans during this time period. Many African Americans had to deal with these struggles because of their race, but they were determined to not let it stop them and they were able to rise above it. In other words, African Americans were not going to let other peoples' attempts to hurt them affect them.
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