Still I rise

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 backyard.

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.

Phenomenal Woman

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 for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill

for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill

for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Africa

Thus she had lain
sugercane sweet deserts her hair golden her feet
mountains her breasts
two Niles her tears.
Thus she has lain
Black through the years.

Over the white seas rime white and cold brigands ungentled icicle bold

took her young daughters
sold her strong sons
churched her with Jesus
bled her with guns. Thus she has lain.

Now she is rising remember her pain remember the losses
her screams loud and vain remember her riches

her history slain
now she is striding although she has lain.