Rant: Maya Angelou is so bad

I've read poetry consistently for over 25 years, and somehow I missed Maya Angelou. I would have thought that that would have been a horrible deficiency. I now see that it a blessing in disguise. She has some of the most cliched, predictable garbage I have ever read.


I now know why the caged bird also sings. It isn't for freedom. It's hoping to lose its voice so that when it goes down into the mine shaft with Maya, it will be unable to warn her of the poison fumes. We need to honor that bird's sacrifice.


I will write a poem with that title (I also know why the caged bird sings). I will.


Here's are some of her more famous poems. If you are worried about choking when you vomit in your mouth I would encourage you to stop reading now:


Phenomenal Woman (poemhunter ranks this as the # 1 poem)


Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit 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 span of my hips,
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 of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.



Or this gem,



Touched by an Angel (the #5 poem on poemhunter)



We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
I'd post more but it's too painful.