You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Maya Angelou's poem Still I Rise

273 Comments

  1. rajesh says:

    poem is strong anti racism and liberation from the negative definitions of blackness.

  2. Naveed Amin says:

    Phenomenal!!! My, My, This work is LIVE; LIVING!!!! Not just lines of words; One can feel the pulse, like the ebb and swell of the oceans!!! History in song, SUBLIME!!! Best of wishes to Maya in her future endeavors; when her soul is touched and she is inspired to give us more,….

  3. Rhonda Baptiste says:

    Maya Angelou is an inspiration to women the world over. Her poems always inspire me and makes me proud to be a WOMAN. Thank u Ms. Angelou. May God contine to richly bless you.

  4. nasiphi phakade says:

    thank you to Maya angelou she has lifted ma spirit thank you so mch

  5. .ra.ra.cakesx says:

    ilove her poems Still I Rise,Alone,nd&: Phenomenal Woman she ihs a qreat peotry writter good bless her,her poems has really help alott of people ghett dru stuff dhey are quiin dru!!!!

  6. keelan mobley says:

    her poem is very good one i like what she talk about in this poem nd i love her attitude whem she say this stuff. keelan mobley

  7. Tyonne Presley says:

    A girl is not going to letyou or anybody bring her down and she is going to to rise.I and i fill that I am not going to let anybody bring me down or make me fill bad.

  8. Antonio says:

    It made me feel happy how she stand ud for what she believed

  9. dharsini says:

    it make people to know about the character of Maya Angelou

  10. Ashutosh says:

    It is something that really touched my heart(especially the 1st stanza )

  11. Ibraheem O. Rasheed says:

    am a student of english presently studying african america literature. Each time I lay my hand on the poem *still I rise* by maya, i always give kudos to the poet. In no doubt, she is a poet among others

  12. Bert says:

    Teh poems are cool and are abouts the linkin parks.

  13. Asad says:

    “If I ever forget, can I come over for a reminder?”
    “Bloody hell!”
    Les and Rich had gone to bed. Sue annoyingly got into a conversation with two newly arrived couples from Canada, so I settled back to watch some live cricket from South Africa. Brian Lara was at the wicket and entertaining the large crowd with another faultless display.
    I have been going to college for some time now. I’m a young woman who comes from Mexico. I am kind of new to America. It’s alright out here. I don’t mind. The weather bothers me sometimes, though. It makes you want to come up with ways to keep warm. My name is Sierra Caliente. My last name means heat. I’d like to tell you of a time when I went in heat.
    Then Kip suddenly leaps out from the side of the stage, and he’s waving this bloody-great knife around. And the chanting gets louder again. And I kept thinking ‘no, please don’t hurt Janice. How am I ever going to explain this to me mum and dad?’ Of course, the knife’s made of rubber, but you can’t see that from the audience, and after a lot of prancing around and running it over Janice’s body, with all the chanting going on, he lifts it up, points it between Janice’s tits and brings it down. All the lights go out, Janice screams and I faint.

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