In honour of Maya, in honour of Woman

Maya Angelou writes

as she speaks

She writes and speaks of you

She writes of you

and multitude

of brave caged birds

who against the odds

against the gods

rise with the sound

of their song

rise and not let

their song

be silenced

 

Maya Angelou writes 

beautifully, too beautifully 

of the ugly visited on Black Women

the ugly that harm their wings

and dares them to fly

and some

with a child under each wing

still fly across wastelands 

against headwinds 

to freedom from memory 

to find joy in the present 

hope in their children’s eyes 

and power in their selves

 

she writes of the caged birds

that break the bars

of some cages

and strengthen others

caged birds that know freedom

from the lessons of bondage

Maya Angelou

through her pen

mothers and nurses

broken wings to full strength

they rise still because they know

of another time

another life endured

unbelievable

in retrospect

 

Maya Angelou writes

of tears shed

wishes for things

heard of in stories told

of other lives in a different world

far from home

from cold winters

and unbearable summers

from this place too

caged birds sing

songs of triumph

and caged birds

find freedom

unfathomable

in retrospect…