“STILL I RISE” (MAYA ANGELOU) (III) [sold]

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As I layered torn silk and linen over and under layers of paint, I found myself wanting to portray a fighting spirit rising in spite of circumstances, in spite of its history of being broken or attacked. And so, it was inevitable that I (once again) thought of Maya Angelou’s beautiful and profound poem, “Still I Rise” from “And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.” It is very different in colour palette from the first work named after this poem, but the surge of feeling it contains is the same.

Part of that momentous poem is quoted below. Full text available here.

“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.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does 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 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.”

36h x 30w x 0.75d (inches); silk, linen, ink and acrylic on wood-backed canvas