Remembering Gifts: Maya Angelou

I think I smiled when I learned she died in the morning… some thoughts on the gift of Maya Angelou.

I woke up this morning to a New York Times notification on my IPhone that Maya Angelou had died. I paused, and thought hmmm…

I considered jumping out of bed and tuning in to the opening of the Today Show. Instead I got my coffee and got back under the covers and thought about her 1993 recitation at President Bill Clinton’s First Inauguration, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” and then I wondered who would be the first posters on Facebook.

“RIP Maya Angelou”

I have never liked the acronym RIP, it seems a cheat of words and a life.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” came to mind, the title always grabbed me and I thought about her gift of using words to inspire people. Last fall when a "Tag, Your It, Post a Poem” game went viral on Facebook, I read “Phenomenal Woman” for the first time. Blown away.

I tried to name five Great American Poets. Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, TS Elliot and well, I struggled, somewhere an English Literature professor is cringing. But I do remember a few poems. Sometimes a verse sticks, “These woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have miles to go before I sleep.” 

So I got distracted back on Facebook and was pleased that the usual suspects succeeded in posting her death before others. As the day progressed, it took about an hour before a few posts were quotes and verses she penned over the years. And finally there was a post with a YouTube clip of her reciting. Suddenly I heard “And Still I Rise” for the first time. 

I smiled thinking that she died in the morning. 

Back again on Facebook, I was struck by one comment about not caring about the death of a celebrity. A celebrity?

Maya Angelou inspired us with words. She used words as her tool. Just like a great baseball player uses a bat to hit a ball out of the ball park and we cheer in joy, and a singer uses their voice to soothe us, or a leader uses their gifts of negotiating to bring individuals together into a team, or a chef thrills us with his ability to blend flavors, and I was reminded of another simple Angelou quote I read this morning: "Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity" (Letters to My Daughter). And I somehow, thought about a mother’s gift of kissing a scrapped knee and lovingly placing a Band-Aid on her child's hurt.

So I started my day thinking about all the unique gifts my friends have. What they do to inspire others. What their tools were to showcase their talents. It made me think about all we let go un-acknowledge. All those great gift for humanity.

Maya Angelou inspired us with words. The same words we use every day. Often, odd juxtapositions of words. She inspired me today to set down my coffee and start my day and recall her final verse from “On the Pulse of the Morning” and I smiled again.

Here, on the pulse of this new day 

You may have the grace to look up and out 

And into your sister's eyes, and into 

Your brother's face, your country 

And say simply 

Very simply 

With hope -- 

Good morning.