Read Online Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou - Free Book Online
Authors: Maya Angelou
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the ground
upon which I put my building
I raised a beautiful house
and I lived in it for a year
Then it slowly drifted away with the tides
for I had laid the foundation upon shifting sand
Another time I erected a
mansion, the windows shining
like mirrors
and the walls were hung
with rich tapestry, but
the earth shook with a
slight tremor, and the walls gave way, the floors opened
and my castle fell into pieces around my feet
The emotional sway of events and the impermanence
of construction echo the ways of dying love.
I have found that the platonic affection
in friendships and the familial
love for children can be relied upon
with certainty to lift the bruised soul
and repair the wounded spirit
and I am finished with
erotic romance.
Until…
Salute to Older Lovers
A sixty-five-year-old woman friend recently married a fifty-two-year-old man. At the ceremony there were many faces stiff with disapproval. What did he want marrying her? Weren’t there young women properly three or four years younger than he? And what did she mean marrying him? In ten years, osteoporosis will ride her back without a saddle, and arthritis will disfigure her hands. If she could not find a mate when she was younger, she should just give up, give in, and give over to old age and loneliness.
And what did I think? I said, “I commend lovers, I am en-heartened by lovers, I am encouraged by their courage and inspired by their passion.”
I have come to speak
of love of its valleys and its hills
its tremors, chills and thrills
I have come to say I love love
and I love loving love
and I, surely, love
the brave and sturdy hearts
who dare to love.
Today, these lovers
have broken the bonds of timidity
and stepped out
before the entire world to say,
“See us, family and friends
denying none of the years
which have branded our bodies
and none of the past broken vows
which have seared our souls.
You may think this undertaking
Should be left to younger hearts
But love has given us the courage to venture
boldly into the sacred country of
marriage, admitting our wrinkles,
we allow them to
show themselves bravely
and our bones know the weight
of the years.
Yet we dare
face down loneliness
and embrace the
uplifting communion
found in a good marriage.
We dare and we hope.”
They are blessed by love, and each of us on whom their love light beams is enriched.
Thank you, Lovers.
Commencement Address
And now the work begins
And now the joy begins
Now the years of preparation
Of tedious study and
Exciting learning
are explained.
The jumble of words and
Tangle of great and small ideas
Begin to take order and
This morning you can see
A small portion of the large
Plan of your futures.
Your hours of application,
The hopes of your parents,
And the labor of your instructors
Have all brought this moment
Into your hands.
Today, you are princesses and princes
Of the morning.
Ladies and Lords of the summer
You have shown the most
Remarkable of all virtues
For today as you sit
Wrapped in earned robes,
Literally or figuratively,
I see you filled with courage.
For although you might all
Be bright, intellectually astute,
You have had to use courage
To arrive at this moment.
You may be,
As you are often described,
Privileged, which of course means
Wealthy, or you have been born into an ongoing struggle with need.
In either case, you have had to develop
An outstanding courage to
Invent this moment.
Of all your attributes, youth,
Beauty, wit, kindness, mercy,
Courage is your greatest
Achievement,
For you, without it, can practice no other
Virtue with consistency.
And now that you have shown
That you are capable of manufacturing
That most wondrous virtue,
You must be asking yourselves,
What you will do with it.
Be assured that question
Is in the minds of your
Elders, your parents, and strangers
Who do not know your names,
Your fellow students who
Next year, or
upon which I put my building
I raised a beautiful house
and I lived in it for a year
Then it slowly drifted away with the tides
for I had laid the foundation upon shifting sand
Another time I erected a
mansion, the windows shining
like mirrors
and the walls were hung
with rich tapestry, but
the earth shook with a
slight tremor, and the walls gave way, the floors opened
and my castle fell into pieces around my feet
The emotional sway of events and the impermanence
of construction echo the ways of dying love.
I have found that the platonic affection
in friendships and the familial
love for children can be relied upon
with certainty to lift the bruised soul
and repair the wounded spirit
and I am finished with
erotic romance.
Until…
Salute to Older Lovers
A sixty-five-year-old woman friend recently married a fifty-two-year-old man. At the ceremony there were many faces stiff with disapproval. What did he want marrying her? Weren’t there young women properly three or four years younger than he? And what did she mean marrying him? In ten years, osteoporosis will ride her back without a saddle, and arthritis will disfigure her hands. If she could not find a mate when she was younger, she should just give up, give in, and give over to old age and loneliness.
And what did I think? I said, “I commend lovers, I am en-heartened by lovers, I am encouraged by their courage and inspired by their passion.”
I have come to speak
of love of its valleys and its hills
its tremors, chills and thrills
I have come to say I love love
and I love loving love
and I, surely, love
the brave and sturdy hearts
who dare to love.
Today, these lovers
have broken the bonds of timidity
and stepped out
before the entire world to say,
“See us, family and friends
denying none of the years
which have branded our bodies
and none of the past broken vows
which have seared our souls.
You may think this undertaking
Should be left to younger hearts
But love has given us the courage to venture
boldly into the sacred country of
marriage, admitting our wrinkles,
we allow them to
show themselves bravely
and our bones know the weight
of the years.
Yet we dare
face down loneliness
and embrace the
uplifting communion
found in a good marriage.
We dare and we hope.”
They are blessed by love, and each of us on whom their love light beams is enriched.
Thank you, Lovers.
Commencement Address
And now the work begins
And now the joy begins
Now the years of preparation
Of tedious study and
Exciting learning
are explained.
The jumble of words and
Tangle of great and small ideas
Begin to take order and
This morning you can see
A small portion of the large
Plan of your futures.
Your hours of application,
The hopes of your parents,
And the labor of your instructors
Have all brought this moment
Into your hands.
Today, you are princesses and princes
Of the morning.
Ladies and Lords of the summer
You have shown the most
Remarkable of all virtues
For today as you sit
Wrapped in earned robes,
Literally or figuratively,
I see you filled with courage.
For although you might all
Be bright, intellectually astute,
You have had to use courage
To arrive at this moment.
You may be,
As you are often described,
Privileged, which of course means
Wealthy, or you have been born into an ongoing struggle with need.
In either case, you have had to develop
An outstanding courage to
Invent this moment.
Of all your attributes, youth,
Beauty, wit, kindness, mercy,
Courage is your greatest
Achievement,
For you, without it, can practice no other
Virtue with consistency.
And now that you have shown
That you are capable of manufacturing
That most wondrous virtue,
You must be asking yourselves,
What you will do with it.
Be assured that question
Is in the minds of your
Elders, your parents, and strangers
Who do not know your names,
Your fellow students who
Next year, or
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