Phenomenal woman? That's me!

When I was in speech and debate competitions, my favorite category was prose and poetry reading (in texas, you either read prose, or you read poetry- you never combine, but in Ohio you create a mosaic of both prose and poetry pieces.. winning or losing a competition sometimes lies in the way you've pieced it together.) Every season there were one or two pieces that were severly over-read. For quite a while that piece was "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou. Just about every woman read it, and I even saw a couple of guys do it. It seemed as though in every round of every competition, that poem would be read at least once. I secretly love this poem. When I hear it I groan and roll my eyes and feel the need to explain how many "frickin" times I had to hear it, but I love it. Especially right now. It reminds me that I don't need a man to make me phenomenal... I don't need anyone, and in fact I can't rely on someone to make me feel phenomenal... that power is mine and mine alone, and no relationship (even when it seems perfect) can make me feel that way. Only me. So, here it is
//
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
//
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
//
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.
//
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.