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.

Sometimes, I get asked what prompted me to start this journey of self love - to start writing this blog. Although I can never pinpoint it down to one single thing that sparked this journey, I can draw upon a small pool of media, people, and experiences that I consider to have been the kindling for what has been a pretty incredible last couple of years of self discovery and love.

Maya Angelou's poem, Phenomenal Woman, was printed and tacked to the wall of my bedroom at the beginning of this process. I can't remember who pointed it out to me, but the minute I read it, it resonated and so I wrote it out by hand and put it in a place where I would see it and read it every morning when I got into bed and every night when I got out of bed. It only took a couple of weeks for me to be able to say, without hesitation or doubt "phenomenal woman, that's me". 

Today, Dr. Angelou passed away. I never met her, never followed much of her other work aside from this one thought-provoking and inspiring poem that propelled me into a life that I could never have imagined ten years ago. For that one poem, I am eternally grateful, and I give the universe thanks for putting those words in my path at exactly the right time.