Julieta wrote this after attending a Maya Angelou presentation
Dark crimson curtains slide open to reveal
A small, frail-looking woman up on stage
Sitting in a chair, hands clasped, head bowed
As if in prayer.
A hush falls upon the crowd for a moment;
Then, thunderous applause breaks out.
Maya Angelou is rising, rising to her full length
With arms extended, embracing us all.
The applause dies down; she sits back, and
Starts to sing in a strong voice, a slight
Tremor mars her sound; the songs are lovely.
She sings in Spanish, French, Jewish, and it occurs to me:
Maya Angelou is singing for us, for herself, for me, and
All of me is listening. I’m still listening when she speaks:
“I am a human being and nothing human can be alien to me.”
“I am a human being and nothing human can be alien to me.”
Her words slowly start to wind their way through
The neurons in my brain, finding passageways for
Permanent entrenchment, initiating a
Series of synapses.
“Be the rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
She continues to speak; we continue to listen.
The energy in the room is electrifying.
At last, Maya Angelou proclaims, “I RISE!”
She is now standing; her lecture has ended.
Tonight, one woman’s powerfully quiet words of wisdom
Have opened my ears, my eyes, my heart
And my very soul.
Julieta Corpus
10/24/11
…fine piece, and do more like it, my bias, of course ….
…not often that somone else can move a person as Maya Angelou did you ….
“Be the rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Wow! Serendipity? This makes me think of “Broad Rainbow Way,” my little story. I really like this poem! I knew about Maya Angelou’s reading but I was not able to attend because I was in Austin. It looks like her presentation was awesome!