Literary Lines ~ Black History Month

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Black History Month, Caged Bird, Literary Lines, Maya Angelou, Poetry, Shaker Why Don’t You Sing?

Photograph courtesy of https://fragglerocks.smugmug.com

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

 

 

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

 

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own.

 

But a caged bird stands on a grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

 

 

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

International Women’s Day 2018 ~ #PressforProgress

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Inspirational quotes, International Women's Day, Maya Angelou

I am a Woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal Woman

That’s Me.

~ Maya Angelou ~

*I know this is a day late, but it’s because of the whole lack of power thing.*

Words To Remember

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Animal & Kermit, Inspirational quotes, Maya Angelou

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

~ Maya Angelou ~

World Poetry Day!

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Caged Bird, Maya Angelou, World Poetry Day

While I’m no poet myself, I do love and appreciate this medium, so I thought I’d share a poem from one of my favorite authors/poets who sadly passed away in 2014: the timeless and incomparable Maya Angelou.

Caged Bird

A free bird leaps 

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream 

till the current ends

and dips his wing 

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird 

sings of freedom.

The Power of Words

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Inspirational quotes, Maya Angelou

As the U.S. heads into the home stretch of the ugliest, most divisive presidential elections in recent memory, I think this amazing quote needs to be shared.

Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial perjoratives and sexual perjoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Someday we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.

~ Dr. Maya Angelou ~