Weekend Post: A Poem By Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Mini Biography- Bessie Blount

Bessie Blount was a physical therapist who worked with soldiers injured in W.W.II. Her war service inspired her to make a device, in 1951 that allowed amputees to feed themselves. The electrical device allowed the tube to deliver a mouthful of food to the patient whenever he or she bit down on the tube. She later invented a portable receptacle support that was a similar and smaller version of her first invention. It was designed to be worn around the neck of the patient.

Bessie Blount was born in Virginia in 1914. She moved from Virginia to New York where she studied to be a physical therapist at the Panzer College of Physical Education and at Union Junior College, and later furthered her training as a physical therapist in Chicago. In 1951, Bessie Blount started teaching Physical Therapy at the Bronx Hospital in New York. She was unable to get help to publish her invention in the United States so she gave the patent rights to the French government. Though she wasn't able to sell it in the U.S i think this invention helped many people in France especially after the war. I think this was like a blessing for those who broke their backs because then this invention would help them to still maintain some of their independence.

The French government put the patent to good use for many war victims to come.

“A black women can invent something for the benefit of humankind”---a quote by Bessie Blount.