Maya Angelou: Still I Rise

Today the world lost one of its greats...

Rest in paradise Maya Angelou

Your legacy will live forever 

This is how I will remember you ... phenomenal woman!!! 

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

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

Homage to my Hips

These hips are big hips.

they need space to

move around in.

They don't fit into little

petty places.

These hips

are free hips.

They don't like to be held back.

These hips have never been enslaved,

they go where they want to go 

they do what they want to do. 

These hips are mighty hips.

These hips are magic hips.

I have known them

to put a spell on a man and 

spin him like a top.

Lucille Clifton

Image source: Black women by Sergey Levin 

I haven't met You yet ...

I recently found this letter in The Huffingtonpost and needed  to share it .
The message is beautiful and profound and I can totally relate.

A letter for the love you haven't met yet ...  The author gives the reasons why it takes longer for some of us to recognize and be recognized!! I like to think of myself as a "rational" person but thank God I am romantic to the bone.

I am want a love that will fill me up and burst out of chest and I am willing to wait for it... meanwhile there is  so much I want to do and accomplish, so love of my life... forgive me for making you wait so long... when you meet me, you'll understand.

"Dear Future Love of My Life:

I know. I should have written before. Forgive me. But I got the feeling that you were beginning to think I didn't exist. But I do. And I wanted to let you know that while I might be as elusive as a unicorn grazing in a field of four-leaf clovers, I'm close. I'm around the corner, down the street, on Facebook, in your office, at our local coffee shop, a complete stranger. I made eyes at you once on the subway. I saw you across the room at a party. I swiped you right on Tinder. But it's not our time yet. And I know you're wondering why.

It's really not fair that you've had to wait this long, or go on blind dates, endure bad sex, settle for 'meh' relationships, feel misunderstood, cry from loneliness, wrap your arms around a pillow as you fall asleep at night. I'm so sorry, my love. You deserve an explanation. So, here it goes. It's taken me a long time to even admit this to myself much less to you, so please know that everything I've written here is true.

The reasons we haven't met yet, in no particular order:

1. I haven't thrown out the list of things I think you should be.

2. I'm with the wrong person right now.

3. I'm not ready to be loved unconditionally.

4. Since my life isn't together, I think you'll reject me.

5. I still believe that drama is a show of love.

6. I've been intentionally keeping my head too busy to think with my heart.

7. I need to date more to understand what I do and don't like.

8. I won't be able to appreciate you until life has kicked my ass.

9. I'm too focused on my own needs.

10. I don't know how to create the feeling of home that lives in my heart.

Clearly, I'm not my best self yet. Or even myself -- I'm still figuring out who that is. I'm pretty sure even if we did meet, you wouldn't like me all that much right now. It's entirely possible that we did hit it off once, and I left without getting your information; or maybe I did get your number and never called because of any one of the above reasons.

Be patient with me, darling heart. Know that I'm working my way toward you. So don't spend any more time thinking about where I am or am not. Just keep making your life exciting and full, so when we do finally come together, we can bring each other joy, because we are already happy.

I know it's taking longer than you'd like. It's a hell of a lot slower than I could have ever imagined. But I'm here. This is me talking to you. And I'm not going anywhere.

Don't give up on me.

Yours, in perpetuity,

The Love You Haven't Met Yet "

This post originally appeared in Medium.