Maya Angelou Day of Reading

[Cwenthryth]

Nearly missed this but it cropped up on my Twitter this morning!

In celebration of Dr Maya Angelou in honour of her birthday - we are invited to read her poem ‘Continue’ and respond with what it means to us.

Continue by Maya Angelou

On the day of your birth

The Creator filled countless storehouses and stockings

With rich ointments

Luscious tapestries

And antique coins of incredible value

Jewels worthy of a queen’s dowry

They were set aside for your use

Alone

Armed with faith and hope

And without knowing of the wealth which awaited

You broke through dense walls

of poverty

And loosed the chains of ignorance which

threatened to cripple you so that you

could walk

A Free Woman

Into a world which needed you

My wish for you

Is that you continue

Continue

To be who and how you are

To astonish a mean world

With your acts of kindness

Continue

To allow humor to lighten the burden

of your tender heart

Continue

In a society dark with cruelty

To let the people hear the grandeur

Of God in the peals of your laughter

Continue

To let your eloquence

Elevate the people to heights

They had only imagined

Continue

To remind the people that

Each is as good as the other

And that no one is beneath

Nor above you

Continue

To remember your own young years

And look with favor upon the lost

And the least and the lonely

Continue

To put the mantel of your protection

Around the bodies of

The young and defenseless

Continue

To take the hand of the despised

And diseased and walk proudly with them

In the high street

Some might see you and

Be encouraged to do likewise

Continue

To plant a public kiss of concern

On the cheek of the sick

And the aged and infirm

And count that as a

Natural action to be expected

Continue

To let gratitude be the pillow

Upon which you kneel to

Say your nightly prayer

And let faith be the bridge

You build to overcome evil

And welcome good

Continue

To ignore no vision

Which comes to enlarge your range

And increase your spirit

Continue

To dare to love deeply

And risk everything

For the good thing

Continue

To float

Happily in the sea of infinite substance

Which set aside riches for you

Before you had a name

Continue

And by doing so

You and your work

Will be able to continue

Eternally

For context, the internet tells me it was written as a birthday gift for Oprah Winfrey, so in that sense it is a personal message from one phenomenally influential African American woman to another, a love letter almost, and you can feel the respect and admiration as you read it, the the sisterly solidarity is beautiful to behold.

I first met this poem or at least an excerpt of it as a funeral reading, and then it was as if the deceased was talking to the bereaved. It was again a message of love, hope and support. I remember crying, happy thankful grieving tears.

In my frame of mind today I read it as Dr Angelou talking to the women’s movement. A message to be true, be kind (in the actual true sense of kindness, not the ignore-your-boundaries sense it has come to be used as); a lot of this can be translated into how we approach any activism, but specifically our feminist activism, and I think I shall muse on this as I go about my day today. About remaining measured, thoughtful and calm in the face of adversity. Not in a self-censoring fashion - in a determined, intelligent and deliberate fashion. Prioritising the vulnerable. Extending solidarity. Remaining open minded. As an atheist I don’t personally respond to the religious overtone but I respect that is her background (she didn’t call herself Christian but was religious I believe).

As a white British woman I respect that there is an element to Dr Angelou’s work that I am personally removed from, all I can do is listen to her stories, share and elevate her words so they reach the audience that needs to hear them.

Happy birthday Dr Angelou

Beautiful and powerful.

Echo your thoughts on the elements of her work I just won't get - but I love the parts I do.

Wow. What a woman. Thanks for sharing.

What a beautiful piece of writing. I was really struck by

'Continue
To be who and how you are
To astonish a mean world
With your acts of kindness'

Thank you for posting.

And happy birthday, Dr Angelou. Thank you for your gifts.

Amazing, inspirational woman. If (like me) poetry isn't your thing then her autobiography is wonderful.

This gets to the heart of everything. Simply wonderful and such a fitting celebration for Dr Angelou.

In my frame of mind today I read it as Dr Angelou talking to the women’s movement

It's a beautiful poem but I read as a version of If and applicable to all. (aside - I don't think the last line of If makes it inapplicable to all. Kipling might have been talking to his son but it has universal applications)

I didn't read Continue at all as sisterly solidarity or referring to the women's movement. Angelou might have been addressing Winfrey but I don't see anything especially relevant to Winfrey or women.