Phenomenal Woman

When I was a quiet girl at sixth form college, I found this poem during the course of my A Level English Literature classes. As someone who did not like the way she looked and had no experience with boys to speak of, it gave me something to aspire to. Not beauty but a complete confidence in yourself. Every so often in the intervening years, particularly when girding my loins and about to go into battle, I would recite "I'm a woman phenomenally" to myself and get a small amount of extra strength. Now, having stumbled across it again, I felt like I wanted to share it, which may well be some kind of copyright infringement but meh, there aren't that many of you who read this blog so just, shhh, okay? Anyway, I feel oddly proud thinking of myself then and now and how I've changed. And I think that, at least sometimes, I fulfil the promise of my aspirations. So, for everybody else who doesn't fit, or who needs a bit of extra strength on bad days or who needs something to aspire to, this is Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou:

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to fit a fashion model's 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 stride of my step,
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 in 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.