Miss Maya, your words are beautiful as you are. Your heart was pure gold. Heaven has gained an Angel that will be dearly missed. God Bless you and your Family.
Linda Williams
To the family of Maya Angelou
First my prayers are with you. Maya Angelou was my inspiration, my mentor, my sister girl who had the gift and knowledge of using words. She encourage me to be me and not to allow anyone to limit my dreams. She had such a elegant way of speaking and capturing your attention were you can lost in the world of words. I enjoyed listening to her, reading her poems and other materials, that like many others, I tried to get on the Oprah show during the book club to have the opportunity to meet her. But I was bless to have the chance to hear her speak when she was in West Va. a little while back. She gave us the extra push to make us realize just how great we were, the way God made us. Thank You Dr. Maya Angelou you have done so much, as our Lord said, Job Well Done, It is time to come Home!
Marguerite Graham
My mother and Aunts knew her as a Child in St Louis, MO, I am Named after her, reading her book Why Cage Bird Sing, my Mother was telling things before I got to that Chapter. To her Son and entire family, you have my Deepest Sympathy.
Venus Jones
I am because we are. To my poetic and spiritual mother. Thanks for teaching me how to rise above it all. May your legacy live on for generations to come. May people continue to see some Maya in me. Love, Venus Jones
Jennifer
Thank you for all your beautiful words. Thank you for sharing yourself with the world. Your books made me see the power of words when I was a child. My love for books has been with me ever since. Thank you for your gift.
Ulrike Boecker
Even I live in Germany, we have read her poems already at school when I was a student. She was a beautiful human with a beautiful soul. She touched my heart so very often because of her encouraging words. Thank you for everything , Lady and Rest in Peace… You will never be forgotten!
GwenDolyn Yarborough Hall
To the family (Guy, Valerie Simpson, Nikki Giovanni, Oprah, students, staff, publishers, etc.)
Dr. Maya inspired me to write my first poem
Creativity
The Spirit running free within that says I Can, I Can
Accomplish the goals set by me, for me, which separates me from all others
The determination to reach the apex of my ability…despite the obstacles
The sincerity to remain humble while leaping forward with ambition…
Creativity….a gift from my Creator to succeed.
(c) 1982 GwenDolyn Yarborough Hall
Thank you Dr. Maya…..enjoy your eternal home with your mom, grandmother, Nelson Mandela and the many other ancestors that are now enjoying your spirit!
Donna Hardy
As a young child in Memphis, I remember sitting in a rocking chair and reading I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS for the first time. I nearly fell out of my seat because I could not believe the negative things that happened to little Marguerite. This book encouraged me to tell my truth to trustworthy adults and to be a confidant and mentor to young women. Thank you–Dr. Angelou–for sharing your faith, for standing tall and courageous in your “traveling
shoes.” Seeing and hearing you twice inspired me to be a better friend to myself and the world!
Kendra Nichols
Awesome wonder. Her voice was captivating. She is already missed RIP Dr. Maya Angelou
KEITH E. JOHNSON
I know her from her writings, her television persona,through the eyes and heart of Oprah. But…I wish I could have met her! What a wonderful Lady!
Sharon Hall
I loved her poems and read her books. Dr. Maya Angelou will always be in my heart may she R.I.P. and much love for her and her family.
Tori McPetrie
Fierce Grace
The map maker
The linguist
The architect of truth
The revealer of illusion
The brave one
Standing
Face to the sun, reflecting back its light
Moon Catcher
Change Maker
Goddess of the here and now
Tempted, marked and violated by life’s interrogation
Words finding a home on your clean slate
You hung out misconception like clean laundry on the line
A freight train of wisdom
The conductor of vowels and consonants
Your placement perfection although you believed in the messiness of life
You honored the broken, for cracks allow light and light will always stand up to
Darkness
The gate keeper, you held prejudice at bay and forged a new way
You never ran, two feet always firmly planted in the moment
You owned your time here
Bending the rules, you were rewriting the instruction manual
Handing each new generation an opportunity to break the marble mold so perfectly crafted to contain
YOU
Ah that essence, that “it” revealed in your smile
A shaman, you keep words in your worn leather pouch
A warrior, tested, confronted, bleeding, brought to your knees. Here is where others would have screamed
Why?
Yet it is ‘thank-you’ that passes over your lips like a prayer
A gratefulness lives inside you like a fine garden
Full, abundant and tended
Is it from here that you sow your clarity and pick your knowing?
What are we left with besides everything?
For 86 years you toiled and attended to these inner seeds, while the world hungered for your harvest
You never said it would be easy
A fee must be paid, a stumble will have you falter but you always have the option of who you want to be in that moment
This I’ve seen you do
This I’ve watched with the wonder of a child on Christmas morning
Better than Santa you have offered mankind the eternal gift
May we recognize its value and strive to know we are worthy
If indeed our life does flash before our eyes when we die, what a view you must have had!
People will forget, time eats images but that feeling you evoked at the center of who we are, that sacred wound that you kissed and so graciously forgave so that we all may start
Anew
You absorbed the worlds ache and returned it to us purified and clear
We all matter
We all have the potential of contribution percolating inside us
You paved the way with a million little acts of love and sacrifice
Choice after choice you painted a picture worth living in
An artist, you sculpted words from a difficult past to create a future we didn’t know we were entitled too
Standing here now before my life I have to ask
What am I sculpting?
You became your canvas
The dancer and the dance
The writer and the words
The lover and the loved
I know why the caged bird sings because you were brave enough to tell me
By Tori McPetrie
mlyn wilson
I opened your Cage
And flew out my own window
away of the oppressive fear and anger of my youth
I educated myself
With my pen I learned to express myself
With a touch of your sharing I learned to rise above myself
Thank you mother, sister, preacher counselor
now angel
Rev. Charmayne T. Cooke
Thank you …
Michelle Murrill
I am saddened that you are not here. But I know you are in a better place. I was so honored to have met you at the hospital. It made me leap for joy! I wanted to just tell the whole world that I met you! You are a Phenomenal Woman! I will always love and miss you! Until we meet again! ❤
Claudia B. Cruz
You are are loved by so many and you will be missed so much. Your words of love and wisdom will be forever in our hearts. You are now with the Lord and have left your footprints for us to follow. Rest in peace Maya Angelou ♡
Vanessa Norwood Patterson
Dr. Angelou said,” a personality die and another is born a little better, a little stronger and little more daring”. I know now that because of Dr. Angelou’s courage, life, gift and liberation, I am better, stronger, daring, courageous and liberated to live, love, laugh, give and be all here to be a blessing to others. Praise the Lord for the life of Dr. Maya Angelou and all that she lived, and gave to me and millions of others on purpose. Thank you!!!!!Thanks my Sister & Mentor Maya Angelou!
Judy Harris
“Phenomenal Woman, phenomenally”… Dr Angelou was and will forever be my inspiration of what a true woman’s shall be via “words”. I cried the day we all found out that she gathered her wings and flew away from here. It saddens me that I didn’t get the opportunity to meet her in person, to just hug her, love on her.To me, she was the grandmother we longed for, the aunt who gave us “the talk”, and that “sister-friend” who was there when you needed her. Rest in peace my beautiful guardian angel, I promise to be a “Phenomenal women, phenomenally, …
Sarah-Amelie
Dear Maya,
I first came across one of your poems (15 years ago) when I was about 16. I learned English at school, but although it was probably not that good back then, the poem I read struck me right in the heart: I did not only understand- I felt the words. The poem I had read was “Alone” and I had never heard about the writer before. Since I wanted to find out more about this woman Maya Angelou and read more of her poems I started to investigate. The internet (or maybe it was my computer skills?) was not that advanced and it really took some time to find out more- but what I found immediately got me. I think already back then I could be called a “fan”. I worked on improving my English and read more and the first longer paper I wrote in English class was bout Maya Angelou. When I finished school I started to study English and the writer that was always good company and had the right read for every situation was you. I read your poems I read your autobiographies and there was one thing that I couldn’t understand and actually still can’t is: that I seemed to be the only one – at least in Germany! Of course I try and spread the poems and read and write and send them to all my friends and everyone who reads them falls in love- but there is one big problem: as far as I know your work has not been translated into German! There is a translation of your first autobiography- but I think that’s it.
I know that it is hard – if not impossible- to translate poetry. Especially your poetry. But I think it would be great if more of your writings were available to a German audience. I’ve already made some translations for friend or family (I gave “Mother” in the original + German translation to my mom as a birthday present) and I think I will continue some day… Your writings I so important for me. I just have to pass them on!
As I said I started studying but during that period of my life I somehow lost myself and I got really sick. I was suffering from an eating disorder and looking back at that time I really cannot understand how I managed to survive. But I did survive and I’m still here and I somehow feel that I have to thank you for it, too. I know that this must sound pathetic, but I think it’s true. I think you have a poem or a story for every situation in life- and that helped me. I still don’t always feel like a “phenomenal woman”, but reading such empowering words in hard times can be really strengthening! It wasn’t just reading your poem that helped me, though. It was also the idea that I had: I wanted to do my Masters in English Literature and I wanted to finish my Thesis. It was very important for me and during the process of writing I might have gone away from a merely academic purpose and in the end wrote it for myself. And maybe also a little bit for you. The title of my thesis is “a life in poems” and it focusses on the “autobiographical aspects in the poetry of Maya Angelou”. I finished it in 2008 and since then I wanted to tell you about it, but I never did. I don’t know why. I guess first of all I was too shy, then I didn’t know what to write, then I thought there was too much to say… I could continue this list forever and I could go on writing forever because there is still so much to say and still so many compliments to make… but I will stop here.
At least now you know that thousands of miles away somewhere in Germany there is one little woman who adores and love you and your work.
Now that you’re gone I will miss you terribly!
You have influenced so many people you’ve done so much good- for others and for myself, so I just want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for your writings. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for everything you gave to the world. I haven’t been so lucky as to meet you personally, but I’m sure that you’ve been a wonderful, WONDERFUL person and I am so glad that I came across your writings. So again- with all my heart, I say: THANK YOU!
Yours, Sarah-Amelie
p.s. I learned from your writings that there is always a way and that I will “rise”. And since I don’t want to forget this, I wear this as a tattoo on my arm. You’ll always be a part of me <3
Cyndy Pyke
A life well lived, a soul so beloved, a foot print for others to follow in. A legacy humbly lived. Shall we gather at the river?
Miss Maya, your words are beautiful as you are. Your heart was pure gold. Heaven has gained an Angel that will be dearly missed. God Bless you and your Family.
To the family of Maya Angelou
First my prayers are with you. Maya Angelou was my inspiration, my mentor, my sister girl who had the gift and knowledge of using words. She encourage me to be me and not to allow anyone to limit my dreams. She had such a elegant way of speaking and capturing your attention were you can lost in the world of words. I enjoyed listening to her, reading her poems and other materials, that like many others, I tried to get on the Oprah show during the book club to have the opportunity to meet her. But I was bless to have the chance to hear her speak when she was in West Va. a little while back. She gave us the extra push to make us realize just how great we were, the way God made us. Thank You Dr. Maya Angelou you have done so much, as our Lord said, Job Well Done, It is time to come Home!
My mother and Aunts knew her as a Child in St Louis, MO, I am Named after her, reading her book Why Cage Bird Sing, my Mother was telling things before I got to that Chapter. To her Son and entire family, you have my Deepest Sympathy.
I am because we are. To my poetic and spiritual mother. Thanks for teaching me how to rise above it all. May your legacy live on for generations to come. May people continue to see some Maya in me. Love, Venus Jones
Thank you for all your beautiful words. Thank you for sharing yourself with the world. Your books made me see the power of words when I was a child. My love for books has been with me ever since. Thank you for your gift.
Even I live in Germany, we have read her poems already at school when I was a student. She was a beautiful human with a beautiful soul. She touched my heart so very often because of her encouraging words. Thank you for everything , Lady and Rest in Peace… You will never be forgotten!
To the family (Guy, Valerie Simpson, Nikki Giovanni, Oprah, students, staff, publishers, etc.)
Dr. Maya inspired me to write my first poem
Creativity
The Spirit running free within that says I Can, I Can
Accomplish the goals set by me, for me, which separates me from all others
The determination to reach the apex of my ability…despite the obstacles
The sincerity to remain humble while leaping forward with ambition…
Creativity….a gift from my Creator to succeed.
(c) 1982 GwenDolyn Yarborough Hall
Thank you Dr. Maya…..enjoy your eternal home with your mom, grandmother, Nelson Mandela and the many other ancestors that are now enjoying your spirit!
As a young child in Memphis, I remember sitting in a rocking chair and reading I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS for the first time. I nearly fell out of my seat because I could not believe the negative things that happened to little Marguerite. This book encouraged me to tell my truth to trustworthy adults and to be a confidant and mentor to young women. Thank you–Dr. Angelou–for sharing your faith, for standing tall and courageous in your “traveling
shoes.” Seeing and hearing you twice inspired me to be a better friend to myself and the world!
Awesome wonder. Her voice was captivating. She is already missed RIP Dr. Maya Angelou
I know her from her writings, her television persona,through the eyes and heart of Oprah. But…I wish I could have met her! What a wonderful Lady!
I loved her poems and read her books. Dr. Maya Angelou will always be in my heart may she R.I.P. and much love for her and her family.
Fierce Grace
The map maker
The linguist
The architect of truth
The revealer of illusion
The brave one
Standing
Face to the sun, reflecting back its light
Moon Catcher
Change Maker
Goddess of the here and now
Tempted, marked and violated by life’s interrogation
Words finding a home on your clean slate
You hung out misconception like clean laundry on the line
A freight train of wisdom
The conductor of vowels and consonants
Your placement perfection although you believed in the messiness of life
You honored the broken, for cracks allow light and light will always stand up to
Darkness
The gate keeper, you held prejudice at bay and forged a new way
You never ran, two feet always firmly planted in the moment
You owned your time here
Bending the rules, you were rewriting the instruction manual
Handing each new generation an opportunity to break the marble mold so perfectly crafted to contain
YOU
Ah that essence, that “it” revealed in your smile
A shaman, you keep words in your worn leather pouch
A warrior, tested, confronted, bleeding, brought to your knees. Here is where others would have screamed
Why?
Yet it is ‘thank-you’ that passes over your lips like a prayer
A gratefulness lives inside you like a fine garden
Full, abundant and tended
Is it from here that you sow your clarity and pick your knowing?
What are we left with besides everything?
For 86 years you toiled and attended to these inner seeds, while the world hungered for your harvest
You never said it would be easy
A fee must be paid, a stumble will have you falter but you always have the option of who you want to be in that moment
This I’ve seen you do
This I’ve watched with the wonder of a child on Christmas morning
Better than Santa you have offered mankind the eternal gift
May we recognize its value and strive to know we are worthy
If indeed our life does flash before our eyes when we die, what a view you must have had!
People will forget, time eats images but that feeling you evoked at the center of who we are, that sacred wound that you kissed and so graciously forgave so that we all may start
Anew
You absorbed the worlds ache and returned it to us purified and clear
We all matter
We all have the potential of contribution percolating inside us
You paved the way with a million little acts of love and sacrifice
Choice after choice you painted a picture worth living in
An artist, you sculpted words from a difficult past to create a future we didn’t know we were entitled too
Standing here now before my life I have to ask
What am I sculpting?
You became your canvas
The dancer and the dance
The writer and the words
The lover and the loved
I know why the caged bird sings because you were brave enough to tell me
By Tori McPetrie
I opened your Cage
And flew out my own window
away of the oppressive fear and anger of my youth
I educated myself
With my pen I learned to express myself
With a touch of your sharing I learned to rise above myself
Thank you mother, sister, preacher counselor
now angel
Thank you …
I am saddened that you are not here. But I know you are in a better place. I was so honored to have met you at the hospital. It made me leap for joy! I wanted to just tell the whole world that I met you! You are a Phenomenal Woman! I will always love and miss you! Until we meet again! ❤
You are are loved by so many and you will be missed so much. Your words of love and wisdom will be forever in our hearts. You are now with the Lord and have left your footprints for us to follow. Rest in peace Maya Angelou ♡
Dr. Angelou said,” a personality die and another is born a little better, a little stronger and little more daring”. I know now that because of Dr. Angelou’s courage, life, gift and liberation, I am better, stronger, daring, courageous and liberated to live, love, laugh, give and be all here to be a blessing to others. Praise the Lord for the life of Dr. Maya Angelou and all that she lived, and gave to me and millions of others on purpose. Thank you!!!!!Thanks my Sister & Mentor Maya Angelou!
“Phenomenal Woman, phenomenally”… Dr Angelou was and will forever be my inspiration of what a true woman’s shall be via “words”. I cried the day we all found out that she gathered her wings and flew away from here. It saddens me that I didn’t get the opportunity to meet her in person, to just hug her, love on her.To me, she was the grandmother we longed for, the aunt who gave us “the talk”, and that “sister-friend” who was there when you needed her. Rest in peace my beautiful guardian angel, I promise to be a “Phenomenal women, phenomenally, …
Dear Maya,
I first came across one of your poems (15 years ago) when I was about 16. I learned English at school, but although it was probably not that good back then, the poem I read struck me right in the heart: I did not only understand- I felt the words. The poem I had read was “Alone” and I had never heard about the writer before. Since I wanted to find out more about this woman Maya Angelou and read more of her poems I started to investigate. The internet (or maybe it was my computer skills?) was not that advanced and it really took some time to find out more- but what I found immediately got me. I think already back then I could be called a “fan”. I worked on improving my English and read more and the first longer paper I wrote in English class was bout Maya Angelou. When I finished school I started to study English and the writer that was always good company and had the right read for every situation was you. I read your poems I read your autobiographies and there was one thing that I couldn’t understand and actually still can’t is: that I seemed to be the only one – at least in Germany! Of course I try and spread the poems and read and write and send them to all my friends and everyone who reads them falls in love- but there is one big problem: as far as I know your work has not been translated into German! There is a translation of your first autobiography- but I think that’s it.
I know that it is hard – if not impossible- to translate poetry. Especially your poetry. But I think it would be great if more of your writings were available to a German audience. I’ve already made some translations for friend or family (I gave “Mother” in the original + German translation to my mom as a birthday present) and I think I will continue some day… Your writings I so important for me. I just have to pass them on!
As I said I started studying but during that period of my life I somehow lost myself and I got really sick. I was suffering from an eating disorder and looking back at that time I really cannot understand how I managed to survive. But I did survive and I’m still here and I somehow feel that I have to thank you for it, too. I know that this must sound pathetic, but I think it’s true. I think you have a poem or a story for every situation in life- and that helped me. I still don’t always feel like a “phenomenal woman”, but reading such empowering words in hard times can be really strengthening! It wasn’t just reading your poem that helped me, though. It was also the idea that I had: I wanted to do my Masters in English Literature and I wanted to finish my Thesis. It was very important for me and during the process of writing I might have gone away from a merely academic purpose and in the end wrote it for myself. And maybe also a little bit for you. The title of my thesis is “a life in poems” and it focusses on the “autobiographical aspects in the poetry of Maya Angelou”. I finished it in 2008 and since then I wanted to tell you about it, but I never did. I don’t know why. I guess first of all I was too shy, then I didn’t know what to write, then I thought there was too much to say… I could continue this list forever and I could go on writing forever because there is still so much to say and still so many compliments to make… but I will stop here.
At least now you know that thousands of miles away somewhere in Germany there is one little woman who adores and love you and your work.
Now that you’re gone I will miss you terribly!
You have influenced so many people you’ve done so much good- for others and for myself, so I just want to say THANK YOU! Thank you for your writings. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for everything you gave to the world. I haven’t been so lucky as to meet you personally, but I’m sure that you’ve been a wonderful, WONDERFUL person and I am so glad that I came across your writings. So again- with all my heart, I say: THANK YOU!
Yours, Sarah-Amelie
p.s. I learned from your writings that there is always a way and that I will “rise”. And since I don’t want to forget this, I wear this as a tattoo on my arm. You’ll always be a part of me <3
A life well lived, a soul so beloved, a foot print for others to follow in. A legacy humbly lived. Shall we gather at the river?