I will preface this by saying that I have never been interested in what Maya Angelou has written... I heard "Why the Caged Bird Sings" and yawned.. Wasn't impressed at all... although I know a lot of folks really liked it.
I will also admit that her association with the democratic party was pretty off-putting to me... and I admit to being hypocritical, because if she had been associated with the conservatives, I would have probably liked her.. mea culpa...
This weekend, however, I saw a commercial on tv, and recognized her voice, reading one of her poems... and I think it's very, very good. Good enough to get me to do some research on some of her other stuff (which, so far, has not been all that memorable)...
But... in my opinion, if she had never written anything else, THIS one alone would be worth the price of admission....
[h=1]Human Family[/h] I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
I will also admit that her association with the democratic party was pretty off-putting to me... and I admit to being hypocritical, because if she had been associated with the conservatives, I would have probably liked her.. mea culpa...
This weekend, however, I saw a commercial on tv, and recognized her voice, reading one of her poems... and I think it's very, very good. Good enough to get me to do some research on some of her other stuff (which, so far, has not been all that memorable)...
But... in my opinion, if she had never written anything else, THIS one alone would be worth the price of admission....
[h=1]Human Family[/h] I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
