Moody Monday :(

Hey!!!  It's Monday,  specifically 'moody monday'  on your new favourite blog. Yes. I said that. Let's see if I'm wrong in a week. Lol, forgive me if I'm presumptuous  but raks can only hope. Now down to business. I hope y' all haven't stabbed yourselves and gorged out your eyes because it's Monday ?  You need your eyes to read this. Today I'll be premiering a poem of mine, or debuting it if you wish. It's called 'knives'. I hope you like it. Also , ill be doing a profile of one of my favourite African American writers;  Maya Angelou. Sadly,  she died not too long ago. A deep blow to the literary world . One of these days God willing, I'll do a tribute because she was indeed a phenomenal woman. So sit back, relax and let art flow through you as I take you on a ride through art. 

 KNIVES

Knives

I'm terrified of knives 

sharp edges and a blunt side

two faced

sharp.

 

 I let you cut me

but I'm scared of knives

you soothed me with your blunt side tickled me till my blood trickled

let me forget my fear

that I'm scared of knives.

 

I always stayed away from knives

your glistening edge glimmer ed

I fell for your sharp silver 

I saw my face in the mirror of your steel

till my red covered it

till my blood soaked it

 

The same knife that tickled me ; left me at ease

has butchered me

killed me

cut me up

severed me 

me and my fear 

both gone. 

I was scared of knives

I always knew they took lives.

              -denikhe raks.

 

  I really hope you liked it. Feel free to drop comments and / or  suggestions in the comment box.  Now to the profile of Maya Angelou.

Born Marguerite Johnson  in St.  Louis missouri,  she had her childhood in long beach, St Louis and stamps Arkansas where she lived with her brothers and paternal grandmother. In one of her evocative moments , she describes how she was first cuddled and then raped by her mother's boyfriend. This happened when she was only 7 years old. When the man was murdered by her uncles for his crime, she felt responsible and stopped talking. She remained mute for 5 years and developed a love for language by reading works of famous black authors and classical works. When Angelou was 12 and a  half, Mrs Flowers an educated black woman finally got her to speak again and instilled in her a love for poetry. Angelou attended George Washington high school in San Francisco.  She also took lessons in dance and drama om a scholarship at the California labour school. When she was 17, she had a son called Guy. After doing many odd jobs , she joined the harlem writers guild in 1950 and met James Baldwin there. It was also there that she met Dr Martin Luther King Jr.  He inspired her to join the struggle for civil rights. In 1960, she wrote ' I know why the caged bird sings'  she became famous and the book was also a huge success. She won many awards and is the recipient of over 50 honorary doctorate degrees. Below is a full list of her works.

 

 Autobiographies

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50789-2

Gather Together in My Name (1974). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-48692-5

Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976). New York: Random House. ISBN

978-0-679-45777-0

The Heart of a Woman (1981). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-8032-5

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). New York: Random House. ISBN

978-0-679-73404-8

A Song Flung Up to Heaven (2002). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50747-2

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (2004). New York:

Modern Library. ISBN 978-0-679-64325-8

Mom & Me & Mom (2013). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6611-7

Poetry

Maya Angelou, reciting her

poem, "On the Pulse of

Morning", at President Bill

Clinton's inauguration in 1993

Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971). New York: Random House. ISBN

978-0-394-47142-6 [14]

Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well (1975). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-45707-0

And Still I Rise (1978). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-50252-6 [9]

Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? (1983). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-52144-7 [15][16]

Poems (1986). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-553-25576-2

Now Sheba Sings the Song (1987). New York: Plume Books. ISBN 0-452-27143-6

I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-35458-2

"On the Pulse of Morning " (1993). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-74838-5 [17]

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994). New York: Random House. ISBN

0-679-42895-X

Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women (1995). New York: Random House. ISBN

0-679-43924-2

A Brave and Startling Truth (1995). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-679-44904-3 [18]

"From a Black Woman to a Black Man", 1995

"Amazing Peace" (2005). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6558-5 [16]

"Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me" (2006). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6601-8

"Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer" (2006). New York: Random House. ISBN

978-0-307-77792-8

Poetry for Young People (2007). Berkshire, U.K.: Sterling Books. ISBN 1-4027-2023-8

"We Had Him", 2009 [19]

"His Day is Done", 2012 [20]

Personal essays

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-553-56907-4

Even the Stars Look Lonesome (1997). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50031-6

Letter to My Daughter (2008). New York: Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6612-3

Cookbooks

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes (2004). New York: Random

House. ISBN 1-4000-6289-6

Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart (2010). New York: Random House. ISBN

1-4000-6844-4

Children's books

Life Doesn't Frighten Me (1993). New York: Stewart, Tabori, and Chang. ISBN 1-55670-288-4

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me (1994). New York: Knopf Books. ISBN

0-517-59667-9

Kofi and His Magic (1996). New York: Knopf Books. ISBN 0-517-59667-9

Maya's World series (2004). New York: Random House:

Itak of Lapland , ISBN 0-375-92833-2

Angelina of Italy , ISBN 0-375-82832-X

Renée Marie of France ISBN 0-375-82834-6

Mikale of Hawaii ISBN 0-375-92835-9

Plays

Cabaret for Freedom ( musical revue ), with Godfrey Cambridge, 1960

The Least of These , 1966

The Best of These (drama), 1966

Gettin' up Stayed on My Mind , 1967

Sophocles, Ajax (adaptation), 1974

And Still I Rise (writer/director), 1976

Film and television

Blacks, Blues, Black! (writer, producer and host – ten one-hour programs, National Education

Television), 1968

Georgia, Georgia (writer for script and musical score), Sweden, 1972

All Day Long (writer/director), 1974

PBS documentaries (1975):

Who Cares About Kids & Kindred Spirits (KERA-TV, Dallas, Texas)

Maya Angelou: Rainbow in the Clouds (WTVS-TV, Detroit, Michigan)

To the Contrary (Maryland Public Television)

Tapestry and Circles

Assignment America (six one-half hour programs), 1975

Part One: The Legacy; Part Two: The Inheritors (writer and host), 1976

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (writer for script and musical score), 1979

Sister, Sister (writer), 20th Century Fox Television, 1982

Brewster Place (writer), ABC, 1990

Down in the Delta (director), Miramax Films, 1998

The Black Candle (poetry, narration), Starz, 2012

Plays and films acted in (partial list)

Porgy and Bess , 1954–1955

Calypso, 1957

The Blacks , 1960

Mother Courage , 1964

Look Away , 1973

Roots , ABC, 1977

Runaway, Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions, 1993

Poetic Justice , 1993

Touched by an Angel ("Reunion"), CBS, 1995

How to Make an American Quilt , Universal Pictures, 1995

Madea's Family Reunion , Tyler Perry Studios, 2006

Recordings

Miss Calypso, Scamp Records, 1957

For the Love of Ivy , ABC Records, 1968

Spoken-Word albums

The Poetry of Maya Angelou, GWP Records, 1969

Women in Business , 1981

On the Pulse of Morning , Random House Audio, 1993 [21]

Been Found (with Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson ), [9] Ichiban Old Indie, 1996

A Song Flung Up to Heaven , Random House Audio, 2002 [21]

Radio

Talk show host, Oprah and Friends, XM Satellite Radio, launched 2006 [22]

 

This is her poem ; I know why the caged bird sings

The free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wings

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with fearful trill

of the things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom

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

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

Maya Angelou.

 

So guys, that will be it for today. I hope you enjoyed today's post and ill love to hear from you.  Feel free to drop your comments and suggestions in the comment box. Also, if you need a poem for anything. Get at me.

Barakatsheriff@gmail.com

or on twitter @denikhe

                Yours in art,

                       Denikhe raks.