Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Maya Angelou's poem Alone

40 Comments

  1. Mercedes says:

    I liked so much your poem, this shows both poor and rich are always alone.

  2. Kelsie says:

    I think the poet thinks that the rich are heartless people, unsympathetic, selfish, helpless, sad and pitiful people.
    From why I think the poet thinks they are heartless, selfish and unsympathetic is when she states “Heart of Stone”, a phrase which is commonly used to describe heartless people, we get that she thinks the rich are heartless. I think that she thinks they are unsympathetic and heartless as when she, at the start of the poem, shows a state of a person who is likely to be homeless, with no water and food, “how to find my soul a home, where water is not thirst, and bread loaf is not stone”, showing contrast between the two states of the rich, who are “millionaires”.
    I can see how to poet thinks that the rich are helpless when she states that “They have doctors to cure their hearts of stone”. This shows that the rich want to cure themselves of “hearts of stone”, but, as we all know, psychological problems usually are not able to be cured by a doctor. Furthermore, “there are some millionaires with money they can’t use”, tells us that the rich are helpless in knowing how to spend their own money, and, we can infer that the rich men are either overworked, or have no wants, or no one to spend it on. However, another aspect of their heartlessness can be seen as the rich have so much money that even they do not know how to spend it, yet they still do not give it out to the poor, who does not even have enough money to own a home or satisfy their basic needs.
    To see the poet’s view of the rich being sad can be seen when “Their wives run around like banshees, their children sing the blues”. The fact that the wives run around, crying like a banshee says that they cry really loudly and sadly, while children, who are often depicted as happy and carefree, actually sing the blues— the phrase in which blues is sadness, but children normally sing rhymes and have fun, not sing a sad song, or do sad things.
    I think that she thinks the rich are pitiful as she is also comparing them against the poor. Before that, in saying the rich have “expensive doctors to cure their hearts of stone”, she mocks the rich as we know that hearts of stone can’t be cured by doctors alone, and that they are trying to attain something through their own material wealth alone. But, in comparing the rich and the poor, it shows that both of them are sad, and we can see that the poor person, and the rich, have no close companion, and it shows that the poet thinks that the rich are no better than the poor as they both have not attained happiness whether rich or poor, and she thinks both of them are lonely.
    Thus I think that the poet somewhat detests the rich for their selfishness and heartlessness, but yet pities them for not being able to be happy even though they have all the money, and that they are helpless in knowing their own needs.

  3. Mariane Elaiza Cerenado says:

    I really like these poem alone..It is the beautiful way of expressing the need of each other

  4. Josette Lina Micallef says:

    Nice poem ! Like it very much!

  5. aishwarya says:

    your poem alone is so true and so touching…………i love it…..its simply beautiful

  6. Mr. C says:

    Alone is a great poem about the necessity of human connection. It’s very straightforward, but still has a deep and important message; we cannot go through the difficulties of life without strong relationships and love. Otherwise, we self-destruct. I noticed a few posts mentioning a connection to a god, but I don’t see any evidence of this in the poem. Angelou is likely religious, but I just don’t see that connection in the poem itself. It is the fact that happiness does not come through material means, but through deep connections with other people.

  7. Carrie Wade says:

    I think there is more meaning than just saying that a person can’t live alone, I think she means that we as a people can’t live without the other people of this world…I think she means that even if you have a great life with a great wife and a great family you still need to exsist in the company of humanity. That is why I think she mentions that the human race is suffering and she hears it moaning from the pain of racism and separation due to other prejudice. No race or culture or religious organization can live in isolation from the rest of humanity.

  8. Jon Raduazzo says:

    I believe that this poem is discussing how a person cannot live life without companions in both loving family and friends and faith in God. Money and trophy wives can give you temporary pleasure, but in the end youll still end up alone. And no one but no one can make it alone. A person needs to sharing a loving bond with others and the presence of God will always be with them and give them something to live for.

  9. charde wright says:

    nice poem

  10. dexter says:

    this poem is so true i really love this it reminds me of my od lady i LOVE it

  11. RAYONNA says:

    I READ YOUR POEM IN SCHOOL ONCE AND I LOVE YOUR POEM. FOR MY BLACK HISTORY PROJECT I DO U .

  12. Samantha says:

    my goodness, i love your poetry! that poem is so true. keep up the AWESOME WORK

  13. Joseph Gillespie says:

    i feel in this poem it is one of the most superb works maya has had.
    it makes me feel all boobly inside
    if i was to have a tractor i would name it Stan because of this poem
    adios

  14. taylor says:

    hey i really like all of maya angelou’s poems but i really like “alone”

    it is really good and until my l.a. teacher made my sixth grade class do a poem prodject on a poet and assigned me maya angelou

    i mean i had heard of her but never really known anything about her.

  15. Kristen says:

    OMG!I’m sorry, but everytime I get sad or mad I just run to this poem. I like it soo much becuz it explains me and my life also becuz the words in it are so powerful if u just listen carefully.

  16. Deja says:

    I like this poem because it seems like from my point of view it was as if someone was sitting down watching a certain person watching there every move for that one day, i think that Maya took their actions and put it into words, but for the next day she watched another person and saw how mcuh they struggled and put those in words also. But in the end it shows that your cannnot make it out alone. No matter hoe much you struggle your not alone so why should you make it out alone.

  17. Deja says:

    I like this poem because it express’s feelings. To me its as if someone sat down and watched a certain persons life all day and were able to write about. And the next day a different person with a different situation and i think that Maya was able to show these actions in many different words. But in the end of all this no matter how much trouble your in and you cant get out of if, no matter what you cant make it out alone.

  18. Jalisha Britton says:

    THIS POEM COMING FROM HER HEART I FEEL THAT SHE IS BEING VERY HONEST BUT IN MY OPINONSHE IS TALKING ABOUT HER SELF IN LIFE IN A RELATIONSHIP B/C NO ONE CAN MAKE IT OUT OG HERE ALONE IF THEY DO THEY WILL NOT BE HAPPPY SO I WILL TAKE THIS POEM AND RUN WITH IT BUT TO ALL THE LADIES YOU KNOW THIS IS REAL FROM HERT HEART MIND BODY AND SOUL. YOU MUST LOVE THAT SOMEONE EWITH THE SAME THING SO YOU WONT END UP ALONE.

  19. Quackers says:

    Great poem that is easy for children and adults to read. I loved it so much that I am going to do my poetry project on Maya Angelou and her wonderful poem Alone. It is so true about how lonely we can all be at times and how if you are far from anywhere or anyone else you will have a hard time surviving and will be VERY sad. I know from experience that this does not feel good. Keep writing Maya!!!!

  20. Shantreece McIntosh says:

    I really liked this poem by Maya because it shows and tells the feelings of lots of people.I think that I am one of those people.All of Maya’s poems are great, but I think that this is one of the best.

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