Still I Rise By Maya Angelou
"Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou is about rising above the lies and rumors to become stronger. This person is strong in this poem, they don't break down for anyone or anything. This poem uses repetition, "I rise" is repeated throughout the poem. Another poetic device used in this poem is a simile " 'cause I walk like I've got oil wells pumping im my living room." There are many other similes too. This poem also includes a metaphor, "I'm a black ocean." There is no rhyme scheme is this poem but it does have some words that rhyme. This poem really inspired me, it showed that woman can tell guys what they think without them judging you. This poem was great! I am excited to read more by Maya Angelou.
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.
"Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou is about rising above the lies and rumors to become stronger. This person is strong in this poem, they don't break down for anyone or anything. This poem uses repetition, "I rise" is repeated throughout the poem. Another poetic device used in this poem is a simile " 'cause I walk like I've got oil wells pumping im my living room." There are many other similes too. This poem also includes a metaphor, "I'm a black ocean." There is no rhyme scheme is this poem but it does have some words that rhyme. This poem really inspired me, it showed that woman can tell guys what they think without them judging you. This poem was great! I am excited to read more by Maya Angelou.
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.