Maya Angelou's Death

"The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing"


I found out about her death late at night on the day she died. Perhaps it would have hit less harder had it been day, but it was night, and we feel most during the night. Now I reflect on the life she lived, the message she delivered, and the words she spoke. And in all, I find a beautiful being, and a wondrous heart. She was a simple woman, yet she was bold and fierce in speaking her mind. And her writing was understood, perhaps differently, but still understood by all. She wrote, not to complicate, but to explain. 

I was introduced to Maya's writing in middle school. I remember being captivated by her poem, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I was overcome by how this one poem held so many meanings by definition. She had that talent. One line of her writing would scream a thousand words of wisdom and experience. She was one of the reasons I chose to give an interest in writing. 

If anything, the greatest lesson she has taught, and lived, is to be good and to do good. She taught us that forgiveness and love liberates the self. And she was a living example of that. When I look at her image now, I see the traces of life and hope on her face. She has passed, but her spirit and voice live on in her writing.