Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

Poet, Novelist, Actress

Gone....but will never be forgotten

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, USA.

An excellent author and poet, she published seven autobiographies, novels and several poetry books.

I especially loved reading her books of inspiration and devotion.

Her first autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was the first step to her international recognition and acclaim.

A recount of her life up to the age of 16....a story of how her parents abandoned her, being raped by her mother's boyfriend, becoming homeless and living life as a teenage mother.

This was only the beginning of her illustrious writing career.  Her mastery of literature was her forte.

"I want to write so well that a person is 30 or 40 pages in a book of mine ... before she realizes she's reading," Angelou once said.

She had many treasured friends like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Oprah Winfrey......those of us left will miss her voice.

 

 

Here is her obituary in this CNN report.

Caged Bird 

By Maya Angelou

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.

May she rest in peace.