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Maya Angelou
Million Man March Poem - Poem by Maya Angelou
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.
Read this poem in other languages
| 1. | মায়া অ্যাঞ্জেলু : : কোটি মানুষের কবিতা মিছিল | 8/19/2015 |
| 2. | Million Man March Poem | 9/3/2016 |
Read poems about / on: history, together, beach, dark, family, freedom, night, today, joy, people, pain, sky, poem, rose, wind
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The ancestors remind us, despite the
history of pain
We are a going-on people who will
rise again.
And still we rise. (Report) Reply
May Maya's words continue to speak of legacy's child who must pass on, but whose messages never die. (Report) Reply
she is a well-loved and respected voice in literature, a strong voice, a compassionate voice, a thoughtful voice... we have all been blessed by her life and poetry (Report) Reply
We are like a spring, which cannot go down. We are like the sun, which cannot go down; we are like the moon, which cannot go down. We will NOT disappear; and still we will rise. Toussaint Louverture, our great General, was right. The roots will spring everywhere; and the seeds have been spread all over the world. We will rise again, again, like Africa, like America. We are the world, because the world came from us. (Report) Reply
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation
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Ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are going- on people who will rise again
And still we rise- - - -The indomitable spirit to rise is profoundly expressed. (Report) Reply
Very touching and inhuman experiences through which the freedom fighters passed have been nicely narrated. Hats off. Ten points. (Report) Reply
The history of pain. Nice work. (Report) Reply
going on people who will rise again.. (Report) Reply
Al o f her poems cry for the exitsing system, great. (Report) Reply
Awesome I like this poem, check mine out (Report) Reply
Chains have been broken and wounds have been
healed. Remembering the past and looking forward
to the future. We all shall rise together once more.
A great worthy write. (Report) Reply
Perfect
good and nice (Report) Reply
Oh my god, I love it.. Very lovely (Report) Reply
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 (Report) Reply
A Fine piece of poem. congratulation.
gajanan mishra (Report) Reply
Lord have mercy...tears fill my eyes as I read this poem...conveys empowerment in all who reads... (Report) Reply
this is truly one of the all time greats! i love this poem! so profound and so true! amazing! (Report) Reply
and higher we shall keep rising! (Report) Reply
and higher we shall keep rising! (Report) Reply
For everyone else the peom is a good one cos you are a great poet
But for someone who comes from almost the same background as you;
A contenent of slavery: Africa
The emotion and meaning is quite clear
For our ancestors didn't suffer in vain.
Still We Rise! (Report) Reply