Maud and Ma and Papa Nearly died of shame. Sadie bore two babies Under her maiden name. Sadie was one of the livingest chits In all the land. Sadie scraped life With a fine-tooth comb. Fondly referred to as the “People’s Poet”, Maya has also written other inspiring poems, including ‘Phenomenal Woman’ and ‘Caged Bird’.Ĭ ‘Sadie and Maud’ – Gwendolyn Brooks An inspiring and moving poem that celebrates self-love and self-acceptance, ‘Still I Rise’ powerfully depicts the struggle that comes with overcoming the prejudice and injustice that women of colour face on a daily basis. The main themes of her works include love, loss and gender and racial discrimination, and ‘Still I Rise’ is no exception. Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar, Maya Angelou is a world-famous author who is best known for her 1969 memoir, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’, which made literary history as the first non-fiction bestseller by an African American woman. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.ĭoes my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.ĭid you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries?ĭoes my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard. 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.ĭoes my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room.

If you are a fan of this haunting verse, we recommend checking out her poems ‘Lady Lazarus’ and ‘Daddy,’ as well as her novel The Bell Jar. But just as the mushrooms manage to grow and flourish in spite of everything, so too will women rise up and escape the societal norms that they have so long been expected to follow.

In her poem ‘Mushrooms’, Plath compares the mushrooms, which are fragile, voiceless, meek, and unnoticeable, to the plight of women at the time. Our foot’s in the door.Īmerican confessional poet and writer Sylvia Plath was as famous for her personal life as she was for her works, almost all of which catalogued her enduring despair, criticism of patriarchy, and palpable obsession with death. Nudgers and shovers In spite of ourselves. We are shelves, we are Tables, we are meek, We are edible, Weĭiet on water, On crumbs of shadow, Bland-mannered, asking Perfectly voiceless, Widen the crannies, Shoulder through holes. Our hammers, our rams, Earless and eyeless,

Soft fists insist on Heaving the needles, The leafy bedding,Įven the paving. Nobody sees us, Stops us, betrays us The small grains make room. Our toes, our noses Take hold on the loam, Acquire the air. Overnight, very Whitely, discreetly, Very quietly So whether you’re discovering these gems for the first time or are simply reacquainting yourself, we hope you find some meaning in our carefully curated collection of inspiring poems from some of our favourite women poets. With that in mind, we’ve collated 7 of our favourite inspirational poems for women from some of the world’s most brilliant women poets to both empower and inspire you – irrespective of whether you’re a man, woman or child.

Which means two things: One, it’s Women’s History Month and two, it’ll soon be World Poetry Day. From Maya Angelou to Sylvia Plath, we’ve compiled 7 of our favourite inspirational poems for women by some of the most powerful women poets!

Poems about growing up for girls