Poem In Your Pocket - That's Me

Today is Poem In Your Pocket Day. You can find out more about it by clicking the link.

I have a hard time with favorites, meaning, I never can pick just one favorite anything. But the poem below struck a cord with me all the way back in the day, when I watched Poetic Justice, the movie with Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. Every few years I dig out a copy of it and re-read it, and send it on to all the phenomenal women I know to remind them of how amazing they are. Therefore, I couldn't think of a more perfect choice for Poem In Your Pocket Day.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion 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 steps
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 of 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.

And here's my contribution to NaPoWriMo today:

I carry a poem
Have a poem in my pocket
Want to hear it now?

Copyright 2008 - Karina