I Will Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter , twisted lies ,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still , like dust , I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you ?
Why are you beset with gloom ?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room .

Just like moons and like suns ,
With the certainty of tides ,
Just like hopes springing high ,
Still I'll rise .

Did you want to see me broken ?
Bowed head and lowered eyes ?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops .
Weakened by my soulful cries .

Does my haughtiness offend you ?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard .

You may shoot me with your words ,
You may cut me with your eyes ,
You may kill me with your hatefulness ,
But still, like air, I'll rise .

Does my sexiness upset you ?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs ?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide ,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave ,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave .
I rise
I rise
I rise.

"Still I Rise" - Maya Angelou