"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."

With the passing of Maya Angelou, I decided to read some of her work which somehow I had missed previously. I finished I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings earlier this summer and now I have finished The Complete Collected Poems. Like any collection of poems, there are some that I like better than others. Some of my favorites include:

Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down
Poor Girl
Prisoner
Song for the Old Ones
Phenomenal Woman
Men
One More Round
Amoebaean for Daddy
Human Family
When Old Folks Laugh

While Angelou will not be on my list of favorite poets, I have a lot of respect for anyone who writes poetry. This book is definitely worth reading.

Take the blinders from your vision,
take the padding from your ears,
and confess you’ve heard me crying,
and admit you’ve seen my tears.

Hear the tempo so compelling,
hear the blood throb in my veins.
Yes, my drums are beating nightly,
and the rhythms never change.

Equality, and I will be free.

Although I have read many, if not all her prose autobiographies, I discovered through this poetry that I did not know Maya Angelou at all. She was far more passionate, sensual and angry than I expected. Some poems were marvelous some I really did not understand and it was an education to read them all.

PERFEITA

Maya Angelou se ha convertido en una de mis poetisas de cabecera. No sólo por la calidad y la destreza que tiene Maya para transmitir emociones a través de sus palabras, sino también por la fuerza, la lucha, el tesón y el profundo amor a la vida que desprende su obra.

Una mujer que habla sobre el abuso que sufrió, tanto por ser niña, como mujer y negra. La lucha de un pueblo que no permanece callado. El amor con el que abraza la vida y las experiencias, la música y el arte.

Un libro que reeleré una y otra vez a lo largo de la vida, de eso estoy segurísima.

Maya Angelou has always had an impeccable way of telling stories through the authentic, unfiltered comings and goings of daily life that those who walked down the same path of challenges and stereotypical judgementalism can connect to. Even posthumously, her voice still resonates with powerful and relevant messages that define the times we currently live in so poetically.

A few of my favorite poems in this collection are "Still I Rise," "On Aging," "Caged Bird," and her unforgettable POTUS inaugural poem, "On the Pulse of Morning."

Maya Angelou's voice resounds with daringness and boldness in her advocacy for Civil Rights, freedom, taking a stand for the marginalized, and standing for justice touching all of mankind. This collection of poetry is definitely a recommended read.

His lidless eye slid sideways,
and he rose into my deepest
yearning, bringing
gifts of ready rhythms, and
hourly wound around
my chest,
holding me fast in taut
security,
Then, glistening like
diamonds strewn
upon a black girl's belly,
he left me. And nothing
remains. Beneath my left
breast, two perfect identical punctures,
through which I claim
the air I breathe and
the slithering sound of my own skin
moving in the dark.

**I've had this collection for three years and somehow at the end of each year, I've always revisited it and every year, I find something new in what I've already read. There's so much being addressed in this collection, so many spoken for, that it becomes much more than just a poetry collection.**

"We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike"


Review:
I have never read a book of poems before, so I don’t know how to write a review for one. There is no plot or character development to comment on. Just the heart of a poet to admire.

Maya Angelou was such an amazing woman, and her poems remain timeless. Before reading this book, I knew that she wrote poems, but I never understood the fact that she was a poet. She wasn’t someone who wrote a couple of lines that rhymed and stopped after some poems gained attention. Before reading this book, I thought I was familiar with Maya Angelou’s poetry, however, there are over 150 poems in this book, and I only knew about 10.

I enjoy reading poems, but I don’t like all poems. I did not enjoy some of Maya Angelou’s poems because of the way they were written, or because they didn’t have an obvious beat or rhythm to them. Some poems that I really enjoyed from this book were, When I Think About Myself, Alone, America, Lord In My Heart, Take Time Out, Phenomenal Woman, Still I Rise, Caged Bird, Changes, and Human Family.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Çeviride şiir anlamını yitiriyor gibi gelir bana hep. Pek de anlayabildiğimi düşünmem aslında, şiir okumanın hakkını veremem. Ama otobiyografik serisini okuduğum bu güçlü kadının nasıl şiirler yazdığını da okumadan edemedim. Yazılarında anlattığı öfke de umut da şiirlerine yansımış. Tek başına şiirlerini okusaydım yine pek anlamlandıramazdım sanırım. Otobiyografisini okuyanlar şiirlerine de bir göz atmalı.

3,5/5

Nada do que eu escrever vai ser perto do que é Maya Angelou, a mulher é uma experiencia própria pra ser sentida.

Some good, some bad. Or maybe it was more a case of some okay, some bloody amazing. I'd recommend reading those from 'And Still I Rise' and go from there.