Phenomenal Woman

“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” ~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 of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

** by Maya Angelou**

The Road Not Taken

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail…” ~George Bernard Shaw

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

***** Robert Frost (1915)*****

If It Is True…

My all time favorite poem…

If It Is True…

If it is true
that the world  talks too much
then lets all keep quiet and hear
the eloquence of silence

If it is true
that the world sees too much
then lets all close our eyes
and see the inner vision beneath
the closed eyes

If it is true
that the world hears too much
then lets wax our ears
and listen to the chastity of
inner music that defies betrayal
by the wayward wind.

If it is true
that the world moves too much
then lets stand statue still
and imitate the stubborn will of
trees
that move without peripatetic

For the dumb don’t tell lies

For the blind can’t  be peeping-toms

For the deaf cannot eavesdrop

For the crippled cant trespass

Jumping across worlds
In a condensed time
After the awkward fall
We are always at the starting point

**Author Unknown**