MEN

My passion for poetry seem to increased lately. Maybe because of the beautiful words that get you thinking what is the true meaning of the words in the poem. While doing my research I came accross a very controvercial poems. Some may said it a very it is a really digusting poem written by Maya Angelou but for me it is a very bold poem and its reflect the true nature of how woman is treated by man. This poem was very focused on physical things to show that one should never see things purely on how they appear. Not judging a book by its cover.  She is warning all females that they should be very careful and cautious when it comes to dealing with men. Rape nowadays is happening like everyday. Believe me rape is traumatizing! Anyone who experiences it is shocked by it. Our soul is being intruded. It is a very scary thought.  At the ‘universal’ level, her characterization of woman in every way is a kind of self-representation on the part of a sensitive woman, as the state of being in reality with all its multiple shades, colors and icons. She does not reduce herself into a sexual model of woman rather as a whole human being with the openness of a complete personality. She knows how to position a woman as a human being to some psychic state, as discussing the role of women she asserts.

Her poem is written around a logical split. She promotes individual integrity and separateness and devalues the personal and communal interdependency. She presents her own experiences of life as foregrounding to show inherently unpredictable, ever-changing, split and divided character of human personality. Her poetry shows the combination of individual agency and power of woman together. Her typical feminine poems resist and expose this combination and unity of the self, subjectivity at social and psychological level, intertwined. This reflects woman’s subordinate position within society and culture which always compel them to shrink themselves to be a romantic individual with their exotic, sensuous and sensual pleasures. The concept of woman in her poetry provides an entity that binds together all women in the face of racial, national and other differences. She is more self-aware human and representative of women from the position of silenced, deprived and unprivileged.  “Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives, the struggle for equality continues unabated, and the woman warrior who is armed with wit and courage will be among the first to celebrate victory” (Angelou,1993). Do you think I am a feminist?

Try to read it and see what do you understand by it. Don't forget to leave you comment.

Men By Maya Angelou

When I was young, I used to
watch behind the curtains
as men walked up and down the street. Wino men, old men.
Young men sharp as mustard.
See them. Men are always
going somewhere.
They knew I was there. Fifteen
Years old and starving for them.
Under my window, they would pauses,
Their shoulders high like the
Breasts of a young girl,
Jacket tails slapping over
Those behinds,
Men.

One day they hold you in the
Palms of their hands, gentle, as if you
were the last raw egg in the world. Then
they tighten up. Just a little. The
First squeeze is nice. A quick hug.
Soft into your defenselessness. A little
more. The hurt begins. Wrench out a
Smile that slides around the fear. When the
Air disappears,
Your mind pops, exploding fiercely, briefly,
Like the head of a kitchen match. Shattered.
It is your juice
That runs down their legs. Staining their shoes.
When the earth rights itself again,
And taste tries to return to the tongue,
Your body has slammed shut. Forever.
No keys exist.

Then the window draws full upon
Your mind. There, just beyond
The sway of curtains, men walk.
Knowing something.
Going someplace.
But this time, I will simply
Stand and watch.

Maybe.

Maya Angelou