Literary Treasure

"You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod 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."


The reason why I chose this poem over all of the other great pieces of poetry is because I actually did an essay on "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou back in 6th grade. I remember it as clear as day because it was the first time I used my newfound writing ability. Before, I did an essay on why uniforms were useless back in one of my old schools and was praised for having an amount of writing skill I didn't even know I had. Writing was never my favorite task in school, not because it was hard, but because I didn't enjoy having to write everything by hand. After that essay though, writing became one of my favorite things to do, even more so after I learned to type and writing became a lot less of a strain on my most precious of utensils. My teacher loved my "Still I Rise" essay so much that she kept my last line on the classroom board for about a month and even told other classes about it (I confirmed this, my friends who had her for other classes told me). In fact, I think I still have a copy of it.
"Still I Rise" is not a complicated poem, but it resonates with everyone. It could stand for woman's suffrage, standing up to people, or anything else someone could pick from this twig of themes. I, however, know that it is a poem about Angelou and her fight against the oppressors of her ancestors, her slave ancestors. It's actually more about having a possitive attitude about even the most bleak occasions, as evidenced by the second and fifth stanza. Please excuse me if I don't seem very ecstatic about writing this. It was hard back then, and now it's just uninteresting because I have already written about it. Every single line is about her attitude about all of these malicious lies. The first few lines deal with her attitude about the history that "they" have written about her and her ancestors. The next few stanzas deal with her act about everything in general, how her oppressors had wanted her defeated, destroyed, broken, but she keeps a positive mind throughout all of the hardships. These stanzas have more of a pschological warfare feel to them. She turns the tides on her foes by not bowing to their abuse, and instead keeps them paranoid by not reacting in the way they want her to. Erratic behavior is the most terrifying thing to face, and she knows this. There's even one stanza where she describes that even though "You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefullness", she still, like air, manages to rise.
The last stanzas deal directly with her past, the lives of her ancestors. "Out of the huts of history's shame...Up from a past that's rooted in pain". She's describing their lives, and how they affect her and the rest of the African-Americans seeking freedom. "I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide, Leaving behind nights of terror and fear...Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear...Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave". She depicts a future where her people can live freely and without fear of the past, of the things her enemies have accused them of.
Overall, it really is a simple poem, but a powerful one nonetheless. After reading this back in 6th grade, I finally realized why Maya Angelou truly is one of the best poets out there. Simple, but with a force that rocks the world. That is Maya Angelou.