You may knock me down with words bitter, cold lies

You may shatter my world like glass

But still, like a bird, I'll rise



Does my brevity surprise you?

Why are your eyes cast down?

Is it because I captivate the thousands

With the light off a British pound?



Just like the wind and the waves

With the certainty of better days

Just like birds soaring high

I'll rise.



Do you wish to see me crack?

Broken edges and slumped back?

A soul in tatters falling with the beat

With a tear shaped halo at my feet



Does my hautiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I dance as though no net ensnares me

Soaring in my own back yard



You may slaughter me with words

You may stab me with your eyes

You may break me down with lies

But still, like a bird, I'll rise



Does my confidence upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

'Cause I have lights twinkling in my eyes



Out of the hut and mother's eye

I'll rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I'll rise

I am the current ebbing and flowing with the tide

Washing away yesterday's pain

I'll rise

Into the endless daydream of life

I rise

Bringing hope to the thousands

I rise

I am the dream and the hope of my mother



I rise.

I rise.

I rise.




This post is an emulation, writing in the author's footsteps, of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise". Poetry has never been a strong suit of mine; however, I am quite proud of this piece as I find that it speaks to how I feel as a seventeen-year-old girl. To me, kindness is the most important virtue of all; however, because I am a generally kind person people believe that they can step on me or use me, what these people don't know is that, like a bird, I rise - no matter what.

All the love, 
The Girl with the Endless Daydream