I rise

"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?

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..."

Maya Angelou