Million Man March Poem Poem by Maya Angelou

Million Man March Poem

Rating: 3.9


The night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach,
I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach.
Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound,
You couldn't even call out my name.
You were helpless and so was I,
But unfortunately throughout history
You've worn a badge of shame.

I say, the night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark
And the walls have been steep.

But today, voices of old spirit sound
Speak to us in words profound,
Across the years, across the centuries,
Across the oceans, and across the seas.
They say, draw near to one another,
Save your race.
You have been paid for in a distant place,
The old ones remind us that slavery's chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.

The night has been long,
The pit has been deep,
The night has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

The hells we have lived through and live through still,
Have sharpened our senses and toughened our will.
The night has been long.
This morning I look through your anguish
Right down to your soul.
I know that with each other we can make ourselves whole.
I look through the posture and past your disguise,
And see your love for family in your big brown eyes.

I say, clap hands and let's come together in this meeting ground,
I say, clap hands and let's deal with each other with love,
I say, clap hands and let us get from the low road of indifference,
Clap hands, let us come together and reveal our hearts,
Let us come together and revise our spirits,
Let us come together and cleanse our souls,
Clap hands, let's leave the preening
And stop impostering our own history.
Clap hands, call the spirits back from the ledge,
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation,
Courtesy into our bedrooms,
Gentleness into our kitchen,
Care into our nursery.

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.

And still we rise.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Gajanan Mishra 30 January 2012

A Fine piece of poem. congratulation. gajanan mishra

63 46 Reply
Ladawn Trice 13 March 2012

truth, pain, love and understanding rains in this piece... things we need to do and still have yet to do, but we are learning to do, and i will be very proud when we do

65 44 Reply
Funmi Anonymous 05 June 2009

Lord have mercy...tears fill my eyes as I read this poem...conveys empowerment in all who reads...

59 46 Reply
Soulistical The Poet 26 May 2012

Oh my god, I love it.. Very lovely

60 42 Reply

this is truly one of the all time greats! i love this poem! so profound and so true! amazing!

54 40 Reply
Theresa 14 September 2022

This poem captures the emotions of the toil black families of every status endures. Kindness starts with us

1 0 Reply
YASHMITHA BOMIDI 12 December 2021

Wonderful rendition

3 1 Reply
YT ALL-CAPS 10 March 2021

this is a great poem conveying a great story

0 1 Reply
mrs.fox 03 December 2020

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0 4 Reply
Joseph Weldegiorgis 13 October 2020

I gotta say this is the best poem ever cuz it had efforts.

1 1 Reply
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