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,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
~ Maya Angelou
May is National Mental Health
Awareness Month. Join me in blogging to
erase the stigma of mental illness so our loved ones can seek the help they
need.
I
|
f it’s
worth doing, it’s worth doing badly” is some of the silliest advice I’ve ever
heard.
I
understand what’s being conveyed by that statement: if it’s worth doing, get
out there and give it your best shot. Don’t
just sit there worrying whether it’s perfect.
But
sometimes, when it’s worth writing, or talking about, it’s worth marinating,
editing, tweaking. Leaving and returning
to it later.
My post
today was going to touch on one of my hot button issues. But then I read an epic post on the
blog of my virtual writing mentor, Mary Jaksch. Basically, the author, James
Chartrand, posits that if it’s worth publishing, it’s worth spending more than
an hour or two to write it.
The
Epicness of Maya Angelou
Instead, I want to talk about someone who was
epic all by herself. Someone with grace,
poise, talent, and a heart the size of North America. Someone who rose from the ashes of childhood
abuse and trauma. Someone who turned her
tears and her sorrow and her pain into words that comforted, inspired, motivated,
and called to action.
Dr. Maya Angelou.
I am not a weepy person, but having slept poorly and for only
a few hours last night morphed into the world’s most nauseous migraine and
exhaustion and when I saw the news about this beautiful national treasure, I
almost broke down and cried. Almost,
because you know crying in public is embarrassing and shameful.
 |
| Phoenix Image credit: Redeyesa, Deviant Art |
And still I have much to learn, and much to heal from.
Still I
Rise
Every one of her poems has touched me deeply in
some way. Despite our differing
backgrounds and experiences and ages, each one touched on some human experience
that I could nonetheless relate to and feel and absorb.
It’s difficult to believe she’s gone. And as you know, death is not an easy subject for me. But I believe that in
the end, she will rise.
And because she embraced her destiny, because she
embraced both past, present, and future, she has left behind an incredible
legacy. Of words and poetry and literature;
of love and life and wisdom.
Her life was not easy one and yet she used it as
grain for the mill; turning tragedy into something else. Learning the hard way that you can’t change
what happens to you but you can change how you react to it.
“My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry;
to get my work done and try to love somebody
and have the courage to accept the love in
return.”
If only we all strived to do the same ~ what a
wonderful world this would be.
Oremus pro invicem,
~
Mikaela
Have you read any of Maya Angelou’s books? What touched you the most about her life or
her work?
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