“Phenomenal Woman”
- 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.
Copyright Credit: Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman” from And
Still I Rise. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission
of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All
rights reserved.
Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (Random House Inc., 1994)
© Source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman
