Writers quote: Maya Angelou

Last week, I went down with fever and after a few doses of injections, I am back by the grace of God as right as rain and ready for writer’s Quote/poem Wednesday. This week’s featured writer needs no introduction, it’s the phenomenal woman Maya Angelou. I knew I wanted to share a Maya Angelou poem with you guys, but I also didn’t want to share one of the more popular poems. It came down to two selections which are completely different in pattern and theme- alone and woman work.

I have decided to go with the poem, Alone. It’s got a pretty straightforward message with depth hidden within. It begins with the character lying and contemplating, about her life, others lives, and the world at large; and it ends with the conclusion that we cannot survive this world alone. Even with our wealth, for the few who have them, we’d still need company to survive and not isolation.

Alone by Maya Angelou

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can’t use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They’ve got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I’ll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
‘Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

What do you think about Maya Angelou’s conclusion? Can we make it out here alone?

Haunted…

She knows what it’s like,
To be terrified
Of the face looking back,
To want to run,
But there’s no where to hide;
The world too small,
To keep them at bay,
The haunting thoughts…
She knows what it’s like,
To put in words,
Feelings you can’t decipher;
To write down rhymes,
At dusk with the moon
Illuminating
The tears streaming down.

She knows what it’s like,
To shrivel back,
At the touch of a hand;
To build a wall,
Around one’s brokenness;
To live a life,
Barely surviving;
She knows what’s it’s like,
To feel alone,
With a crowd all around;
To search for hope,
At the Brink of desperation
And that’s the reason,
She won’t let you go.
She knows what’s it’s like
And vows you won’t,
have to surf it alone.

the above image is courtesy of Juniorgman.tumblr

Someone like you-

Show me- the parts of you,
Living in- the depth of wounds;
The scars hidden from all to see,
Show me your soul, your zeal to live-
For there is someone like you, in me.

Save the small talks and pleasantries,
Speak to me of- the thoughts that keep;
Those memories- which haunt your dreams,
The galaxies you’ll love to visit-
For there Is someone like you, in me.

When the miles, our worlds divide,
And vocalization wouldn’t suffice;
Read the words, with my heart I write,
And know Alone- you’ll never have to fight.
For there is someone like you..

The above image is courtesy of Missingjim.com

Endings & Beginnings

I started with poetry,
And ended with prose;
Started with you-
Ended alone.

I started with a diary,
And ended with words-
Filling up pages,
Of fiction genre.

I started with bullet holes,
Now ending with cracks;
Mended by friends,
I didn’t think I’d have.

I started from somewhere,
And ending elsewhere;
What went on in between –
Is another story to tell.

But I started, I started,
Trudged through life’s mud;
Cause endings are much better,
Than where the story begins.

the above is courtesy of Marc and Angel

Today was not okay-

Curled up.
Nowhere to run
No one to run to
The silence- haunting
Limbs- trembling
Face, stained
In all the right places.
Today- was not okay.

A while,
A long time it took-
Regained composure
Silence, still haunting
Limbs- exhausted
Face- weary;
Today- was not okay.

Relapsed-
An overdue setback;
Overtaking emotions;
Grim thoughts- engulfing
Alone- vulnerable
The thoughts won that time.

Today,
Was not okay;
Today,
The thoughts- raging;
Today,
She did get through it;
Today,
She knows she can-
Tomorrow will be okay.

IMAGE CREDIT

When the world sleeps-

I sit alone,
While the rest of the world sleeps;
Blanketed,
by my thoughts and memories ;
Resurfacing,
With dusk and the star beams;
A turbulence,
In my world-I’m befriending;
At night,
The voices in my head speak.

I sit alone,
Envisioning galaxies;
Distracting-
My mind from its turbulence;
While the sight,
Of the starlight twinkling;
Gives me hope-
maybe someday I’ll be free;
And explode-
Like meteorites in galaxies
Giving birth-
To the planets, a new me;
Thus I think-
At night, when the world sleeps.

IMAGE CREDIT: Hii Felicia

The Maiden-

You want to hear a story-
Well, once upon a time;
There lived a dark haired maiden,
With skin a caramel brown;
Her eyes- a lighter shade of grey,
Which shone blue under light.

This maiden had a family,
Three sisters and a dad;
Her mother passed away long since,
Their father rarely around;
she had to work and strive from dawn,
To keep the chimney alight;
But with a smile she strove each day-
Her siblings could sleep at night.

Now where’s the twist in the drama?
I hear you eagerly ask;
Well here’s the interesting part,
I’d share with you at last-
This maiden worked her hats off,
Keeping her siblings alive;
Till they grew up, and schooled now too-
And married off in grand.

But live alone the maiden did,
Amidst the neighbors prying;
Ignoring words, most not too nice-
She still didn’t settle down;
Some thought that she must be insane,
To let such beauty die;
They couldn’t see that she was happy,
Living a life on her terms.

But people always need reason,
If things aren’t their way;
And Kept on forcing the maiden’s hand-
Till she admitted, she was insane;
And now when travellers wonder why,
Such beauty is not engaged;
The towners cooly answer on –
Oh, that maiden, she’s insane.

      IMAGE LINK

I do not want to grow old alone-

I do not want to grow up, old and bitter
Being the old lady who’s sour and a screamer;
Lonely and cold on a windy Friday night,
sitting and knitting under a full moon light;
Oblivious to its beauty, lost in past thoughts
Of a life long gone, never to return.

I do not want to be known as the debby downer;
One who drowns children in tales of old times-
Of witches and wizards and rumples’ disguise,
Misleading true lovers and preaching a life-
Where love is a farce and fairytales don’t last.

I do not want to die old with no one to hold;
No one to laugh at my old woman jokes;
No one to decipher the pain in my scorn;
No one to joke at my degrading neurons.

I do not want to live till the sun goes extinct;
The dark takes up it’s place, I do not want it-
To live with mere shadows of myself, lonely me.

I do not want laughter to come from the street,
Through windows with no one to cheer me within.

I do not want to grow old and wither all alone.

Quote: Everybody is a Somebody

Recently, I found this quote/poem by Emily Dickinson. It resonated with me instantly and has been stuck in my mind ever since. I don’t want to believe it-  that someone can feel so lost as to believe he/she is a nobody. But it’s true, and it happens. Emily was a great poet who lived during the 18th century. This shows and proves rather that depression and feelings of hopelessness didn’t just begin in the 21st century or with the “youth of nowadays” as they say. It is an issue that has been existing long since- for centuries.

  There are a lot of illnesses that originated in the 19th century and cure or at least therapeutic treatments have been found. So, why is this age old disease of the mind still rampant in our society? I mean even small pox which at a time was deadly is now eradicated worldwide. why is this depression gaining more ground rather than losing power? My theory, we have gotten so busy recognizing and diagnosing the signs of physical distress that we may have forgotten about the emotional ones. We can’t expect people to go about with signs on their back with the words “I feel like a nobody” written on them. What we can do is- make people comfortable enough to share those feelings, spread love and smile to dissuade those feelings.

 It doesn’t mean that every one you show an act of love or kindness to would respond in a positive way. The truth is, a lot of people don’t know what “love” is to even respond appropriately- you should’t blame them. A little patience with the love and I tell you that somebody will appreciate it, some day.

This week, how about we try to make a ‘nobody’ feel like a ‘somebody’. You know that student that eats alone, or the co-worker who seems to always be in a shell- smile at them, heck, take it a step further and say hi. If they don’t respond positively, it is okay. Like I said, some people are too broken to know what real love looks like. But odds are, the nobody’s are probably waiting for someone to realize and reassure them of their existence.

smile, spread love and be happy… Everybody is a somebody.

don’t let the voice in your head tell you otherwise. 🙂

Nobody knows…

Nobody knows,
The pain a soul can carry;
It’s not measured, can’t be-
We just trudge forth, dragging.

Nobody knows, it’s bottled inside;
Even if they do, they won’t understand;
The cries of the heart,
The sorrow it hides-
It gets heavy, nobody knows;
We get weary, they still don’t know;

It hurts…it bleeds
The heart weakens-
Still nobody knows.

They couldn’t, could they?
In silence, we bear the pain;
we think they won’t understand,
‘We think’- our tragic flaw.
In the end, still… Nobody knows
We leave believing- nobody can.