Black Globe International Magazine Oct 2019 2019-10 Black Globe International Magazine Vol 201 | Page 7

PHENOMENAL
WOMAN
Poem by Dr. Maya Angelou
As transcribed from Youtube video posted by ClassicBlackCinema (2014)
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 arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I say, It’s in the reach of my arms, The span
of my hips, I’m a woman Phenomenally.
The stride of my step, The curl of my lips. I’m
a woman Phenomenally. Now you understand Just why my head’s
not bowed.
Phenomenal woman, That’s me. I don’t shout or jump about
I walk into a room Just as cool as you
please, Or have to talk real loud.
And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall
down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me, A hive of hon-
ey 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.
Phenomenal woman, That’s me.
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 palms of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman, all you women can be!
Note: The last line of the original poem ended with
“Phenomenal woman, that’s me”
But, according to this recording, the doctors, Dr.
Angelou and me, agree with this Beautiful Truth:
we can all be Phenomenal Women!
- Dr. Stephvanie Wynn
Learn more about Dr. Maya Angelou in our
February Black History issue.
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