Phenomenal Woman

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

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 of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. 

My gosh. This poem, as soon as i read the first stanza, spoke to me. What Maya Angelou wrote is so absolutely true. We always need to point out our characteristics that make us different, because those are what really make us different and beautiful. A lot of people write about this kind of thing, which is great, but Maya does it in such a a way that is really convincing!

Maya uses many different techniques, here are some of my thoughts

• Repetition occurs a lot in this poem. I feel like this is one of the strongest things about this poem, because it really sends the message. I feel like Maya was making sure you knew what she was trying to say by the end of the poem.
• Maya also uses personal connections in this, which makes it truly beautiful. You kind of witness her standing up for herself because she doesn't have the model look. 
• She also writes with such a confidence! Its like she's saying, "If I can do it, so can you!" 

I think one of the reasons why Maya Angelou is such a great poet, is because she makes her writing her own. You can tell that she put a lot of thought and effort into this poem, and it really paid off. Like I said in my third bullet point, Maya's not afraid to share her personal stories. She really lets her audience "know" her, if you know what I mean.
Reading this poem kind of made me jealous, I mean I'm skinny. I know that, and I know that its one of those things that I can take advantage of. But when I read this, it makes me want a body that isn't super skinny.
As I just wrote that sentence, I realized something else. Maybe Maya isn't talking about having a body type that's not model skinny. Maybe she's talking about all of the shapes and sizes out there, that we just need to except. This poem can have tons of different out looks!

Yet another reason why this is such a great poem! :)