In Memoriam: Dr. Maya Angelou, Her “Woman Work” is Done, May 29, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #573)

Poet, author, educator, humanitarian, and leader, Dr. Maya Angelou (image right) passed on yesterday, May 28^th, 2014.  She was a great great lady and inspiration to millions of individuals. Her loss will be keenly felt by many, including me.

I had first heard of Dr. Maya Angelou’s work when I saw it performed at university speech tournaments when I was in college many years ago–her poem “Phenomenal Woman” and her story “I know why the caged bird sings” were my introduction to her.

Later on, I would use her poems as examples of writing and language for my university speech class that I taught–having my students perform her poems to help them better understand the cadence of words and their meanings.  I still have my own treasured hard cover edition of Dr. Angelou’s The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou book(image right) –published by Random House, 1994–with the dozen or so poems we performed in class listed on a post it note in the front cover.

Her works were about her journey, and about many people’s journeys.  She wrote of pain and sorrow, of joy and heartache, of triumph and tragedy.  And through it all, she conveyed a singular determination, focus, perseverance, poise, wisdom, leadership, and excellence that few could hope to achieve and none could equal.

My friend Jazzbaby1 has a lovely tribute to Maya Angelou at her blog Funky Blue Dandelion here. Jazzy shares three of Dr. Maya Angelou’s poems via videos with Maya Angelou performing them herself–“And Still I Rise” and “Phenomenal Woman” (text here) are my special favorites, too.

I had also previously shared links to the latter poem, “Phenomenal Woman” by Dr. Angelou here for its inspirational message to women.

So in closing, from my copy (p. 153) of The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (and also found here), let me share another of her poems that is fitting on this day:

Woman Work, by Dr. Maya Angelou

I’ve got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I’ve got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You’re all that I can call my own.

 

May Dr. Maya Angelou rest tonight. And my thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.   Hugs!