Maya Angelou

There are some nights whensleep plays coy,aloof and disdainful
And all the wilesthat I employ to winits service to my sideare useless as wounded pride,and much more painful

Give me your
Make room for meto lead and followyoubeyond this rage of poetry
Let others havethe privacy oftouching wordsand love of lossof love
For

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies

I note the obvious differencesin the human family
Some of us are serious,some thrive on comedy
Some declare their lives are livedas true profundity,and others claim they really livethe real reality
The variety of our skin tonescan c...

Petulant priests, greedycenturions, and one millionincensed gestures standbetween your love and me
Your agape sacrificeis reduced to colored glass,vapid penance, and thetedium of ritual
Your footprints yetmark the crest ofbillowing seas ...

Beloved,
In what other lives or
Have I known your
Your

Your hands easyweight, teasing the beeshived in my hair, your smile at theslope of my cheek
On theoccasion, you pressabove me, glowing, spoutingreadiness, mystery rapesmy
When you have withdrawnyour self and the magic, whenonly the smell...