Monday, May 23, 2005


Life's a bitch.
"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch.
You've got to go out and kick ass." - Maya Angelou

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the author, Maya Angelou is one of today's greatest contemporary writers. She's a poet, teacher, historian, best-selling author, actor, playwright, civil-rights activist, and...my muse.

I first saw her in this particular episode of Oprah (who's my other muse, by the way).
The name "Maya Angelou" was faintly familiar to me, coz i remembered seeing her name on Hallmark cards (yes, I am guilty of Hallmark-card-reading), but I never really knew who this woman was until she exchanged words of wisdom with Oprah on that show.

The moment I heard the words that came out of her mouth, I could say that she indeed captivate me lyrically by how she put her wisdom and emotions together to make up phrases of truth and beauty.

I remember hearing her say something like:

"With all the evil that surrounds us, I dont blame people for losing hope. But this, I've got to tell you: yes, darkness and pain may lurk, but remember...there will always good in this world."

After having heard that, I was forever changed by those words.
I found inspiration from a stranger who lived faraway yet managed to touch my heart.
Maybe that's why I have great fondness for writing...because I too want to have that very same power...the power to touch lives with my words.

--------------------------------------
Some of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes:

"If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers"

"Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness."

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."

"If you dont like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

"The main thing in one's own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry."

"Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns all clean. "

"Look for the beauty in things."

"Lyrical poetry is out for the time being, and something that is called rap or hip-hop is in. It is still poetry, and we can't live without it. We need language to tell us who we are, how we feel, what we're capable of — to explain the pains and glory of our existence."

"Still, when it looked like the sun wasn't going to shine anymore, God put a rainbow in the clouds."

" A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. "

"Poetry is music written for the human voice."

-------------------------------------------

[-There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you-]
Image hosted by Photobucket.comImage hosted by Photobucket.com
- n|x - was loved at 11:36 PM
[link to post] [3 smiles for me :)]
~I will keep your secrets. Just think of me as the pages of your diary.~


[ Photos ] [ Anthology ] [ Tagboard ] [ Links ]