The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (8 page)

She wished of him a lover's kiss and
nights of coupled twining.
They laced themselves
between the trees
and to the water's edge.

Reminding her
the cratered moon lay light-years away,
he spoke of Greece, the Parthenon
and Cleopatra's barge.

She splayed her foot
up to the shin
within the ocean brine.

He quoted Pope and Bernard Shaw
and
Catcher in the Rye.

Her sandal lost,
she dried her toe
and then she mopped her brow.

Dry-eyed
she walked into her room
and frankly told her mother,
“Of all he said, I understood
he said he loved another.”

The dust of ancient pages
had never touched his face,
and fountains black and comely
were mummied in a place
beyond
his young un-knowing.

She shared the lettered strivings
of etched Pharaonic walls
and Reconstruction's anguish
resounded down the halls
of all her
dry dreams.

A day
drunk with the nectar of
nowness
weaves its way between
the years
to find itself at the flophouse
of night
to sleep and be seen
no more.

Will I be less
dead because I wrote this
poem or you more because
you read it
long years hence.

Give me your hand.

Make room for me
to lead and follow
you
beyond this rage of poetry.

Let others have
the privacy of
touching words
and love of loss
of love.

For me
Give me your hand.

If this country is a bastard
will the lowdown mother user
who ran off
and left the woman
moaning in her
green delivery
please come back and claim
his love child.
Give a legal name to beg from
for the first
time of its life.

Thus she had lain
sugarcane sweet
deserts her hair
golden her feet
mountains her breasts
two Niles her tears.
Thus she has lain
Black through the years.

Over the white seas
rime white and cold
brigands ungentled
icicle bold
took her young daughters
sold her strong sons
churched her with Jesus
bled her with guns.
Thus she has lain.

Now she is rising
remember her pain
remember the losses
her screams loud and vain
remember her riches
her history slain
now she is striding
although she had lain.

The gold of her promise
 has never been mined

Her borders of justice
 not clearly defined

Her crops of abundance
 the fruit and the grain

Have not fed the hungry
nor eased that deep pain

Her proud declarations
 are leaves on the wind

Her southern exposure
 black death did befriend

Discover this country
 dead centuries cry

Erect noble tablets
 where none can decry

“She kills her bright future
 and rapes for a sou

Then entraps her children
with legends untrue”

I beg you

Discover this country.

Be me a Pharaoh
Build me high pyramids of stone and question
See me the Nile
at twilight
and jaguars moving to
the slow cool draught.

Swim me Congo
Hear me the tails of alligators
flapping waves that reach
a yester shore.

Swing me vines, beyond that baobab tree,
and talk me chief
Sing me birds
flash color lightening through bright green leaves.

Taste me fruit
its juice free-falling from
a mother tree.

Know me

Africa.

Holy haloes
 Ring me round

Spirit waves on
 Spirit sound

Meshach and
 Abednego

Golden chariot
 Swinging low

I recite them
 in my sleep

Jordan's cold
 and briny deep

Bible lessons
 Sunday school

Bow before the
 Golden Rule

Now I wonder
If I tried

Could I turn my
cheek aside

Marvelling with
 afterthought

Let the blow fall
 saying naught

Of my true Christlike
control

And the nature
 of my soul

Would I strike with
rage divine

Till the culprit
fell supine

Hit out broad all
 fury red

Till my foes are
 fallen dead