Tag: bloganuary 2023

Still I rise – Maya Angelou

Bloganuary Day 25

Today’s Prompt: What is a song or poem that speaks to you and why?

I love the sassiness of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”. Whenever I read it, I read it in her voice simply because I love the way she recited it. It speaks to me on so many levels. I have been bullied. I have cried my heart out because I had not been invited to events by friends to protect the ego of another who was insecure about me. I have been looked down upon because I am a single mum and because I am not rich. Then of course there is the fact that I am a female and a person of colour working in the corporate world in a country where I am not black enough for some and of course, not white enough for others.

When I read this poem, I am reminded that despite all this, I still rise. I am able to stand on my own two feet and create a home for my son as a start. I know I do not do it alone. God has my back and surrounds me with the most amazing people to keep me rising and it is because I have realised this, I can now walk confidently through life. 

Still I Rise
BY MAYA ANGELOU

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 backyard.

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.
Maya Angelou, 
"Still I Rise" from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.

How Do You Show Love?

Bloganuary Day 24

Today’s Prompt: How do you show love?

I would say that there are 2 ways that I show love largely. I love to give friends and family little gifts. Nothing extravagant though. For example, I work for an FMCG company that owns a lot of different personal care and household brands. There is always a product that friends and family say they love so I make sure I take them that product whenever I visit them. It brings me great joy to see the look of delight on their faces. Sometimes the gift is not a physical item. I also enjoy taking people to places that they have never been before or sharing an experience that is new to them.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The other way I show love is by sharing my knowledge. I love to see people grow and if there are any tools I can give them to get them to the next wrung on their ladder, then I will do so. I have learnt that I should only help when asked or else the seeds will fall on rocky ground. If I insist on ignoring this rule, I will get frustrated and the other person will continue to do what they have always done (and complain about it) still be merrily on their way. It’s not their fault though as they didn’t really want the help in the first place.

I am not a physical person as it’s not how I was brought up but I promised myself when my son was born that I would not raise him that way. We also didn’t say “I love you” very often in our family and I vowed that wouldn’t happen with my son as well. We say “I love you” to each other every day and especially when we are parting ways for the day and hugs are given freely when needed or requested.

That’s me for today. How do you show love?

What was my childhood dream job?

Bloganuary Day 22

Today’s prompt: What was your dream job as a child?

I actually don’t remember. I do know it was an administrative type job but I can’t say I had a clear picture of it in mind. In my early teens, I knew it would be a corporate job. I used to picture myself in 80’s power suites with high heels and a briefcase. I pictured working in an office with awesome views of the town. I remember being able to see skycrapers nearby. By the time I finished high school I still wasn’t clear on what I would become. I studied food technology because it sounded interesting and it wasn’t offered at a tertiary institution in my home town.

Well, that diploma in Food Technology did get me into the corporate world. I don’t wear power suites but I do get to dress up smartly when I choose to and wear high heels. My briefcase has been swapped for a laptop backpack. Instead of awesome views of the city, I have awesome views of the sea. I’d say that I largely living my dream. Wouldn’t you?

What was your dream job? Are you living your dream now?

The view from my desk