Well, here we are…
Well, we’ve made it through another April, another Poetry Month is over. I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with me, reading some of my work and listening to the poetry of others, much more famous and acclaimed than I am. I hope this celebration of poetry has lifted you from dark places, that it has been a distraction from the chaos of the world we live in. Even sad poems can make us feel we’re not alone.
I’ve decided to close out Poetry Month with Maya Angelou’s poem, I Rise. Its main message is one of unwavering self-respect, resilience, and defiance in the face of oppression and prejudice, emphasizing the power of rising above adversity. I think she wrote it to celebrate the strength of Black women, but I believe it celebrates those characteristics that all of us have—and need, as we face the world each day.
Thank you for sharing the journey this month. May all of us live in the spirit of “I Rise”.
Elise Skidmore ©2025
Beautiful. I’ve always loved her recitation of this poem.
Linda,
When I decided I wanted to use this poem, I kept trying to find a version that was just her reciting the poem, but so many of the videos were her at events where it was included and were just too long to share it. When I finally found this one, I liked that it also had the lyric of the poem–and I loved the fact that Maya had recited that poem so many times, she felt free to make little changes as she went and just moved with it. I know when I’ve recorded myself reading poems aloud, I do many takes before I get one which I haven’t stumbled over the words (my own!) or whatever. I love hearing poets like Amanda Gorman and Maya Angleou recite their work. It comes alive.