MAYA ANGELOU QUOTES
American poet (1928-2014)
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
MAYA ANGELOU
"Still I Rise"
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
MAYA ANGELOU
attributed, The Law of Attraction
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
MAYA ANGELOU
interview, Beautifully Said Magazine, Jul. 2012
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
MAYA ANGELOU
attributed, Telling It Like It Is
If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die.
MAYA ANGELOU
Facebook post, Jan. 25, 2013
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
MAYA ANGELOU
Letter to My Daughter
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
MAYA ANGELOU
USA Today, Mar. 5, 1988
The idea of overcoming is always fascinating to me. It's fascinating because few of us realize how much energy we have expended just to be here today. I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for the overcoming.
MAYA ANGELOU
Facebook post, Apr. 16, 2014
The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
MAYA ANGELOU
All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
MAYA ANGELOU
attributed, Black and Powerful
Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.
MAYA ANGELOU
Letter to My Daughter
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.
MAYA ANGELOU
Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer
Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.
MAYA ANGELOU
attributed, Fifty Years of Living, Laughing and Loving
There is a place in you that you must keep inviolate, a place that you must keep clean. A place where you say to any intruder, "Back up, don't you know I'm a child of God."
MAYA ANGELOU
Facebook post, May 26, 2013
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.
MAYA ANGELOU
Facebook post, Jun. 9, 2013
What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.
MAYA ANGELOU
Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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.
MAYA ANGELOU
Phenomenal Woman
My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.
MAYA ANGELOU
Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer
Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
MAYA ANGELOU
Facebook post, Nov. 22, 2013
You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot -- it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.
MAYA ANGELOU
interview, O Magazine, Apr. 2011