What do I say to you?
I write to all my heroes
As if they stand before me,
But what do I say to you,
The largest of them all?
I’ve barely begun to study your life;
I know a little of your teenage strife
And how one man’s violation
Almost stole your voice,
But I read you in your poetic lines,
I’ve always read you in your poetic lines.
I read a million autobiographies
Of rhythm, rhyme, meaning, and feeling,
Of exhortations to black men and especially women
To rise tall as redwoods to the sky
And bust through glass ceilings, shattering them
To millions of shards.
I became a bard
Because of you,
Maya Angelou.
Written 5/18/08
© 2008 Nicole Nicholson. All Rights Reserved.
