Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou

• Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
• I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
• But when I start to tell them,
• They think I’m telling lies.
• I say,
• It’s in the reach of my arms
• The span of my hips,
• The stride of my step,
• The curl of my lips.
• I’m a woman
• Phenomenally.
• Phenomenal woman,

• That’s me.

• I walk into a room
• Just as cool as you please,
• And to a man,
• The fellows stand or
• Fall down on their knees.
• Then they swarm around me,
• A hive of honey bees.
• I say,
• It’s the fire in my eyes,
• And the flash of my teeth,
• The swing in my waist,
• And the joy in my feet.
• I’m a woman
• Phenomenally.
• Phenomenal woman,

• That’s me.

• Men themselves have wondered
• What they see in me.
• They try so much
• But they can’t touch
• My inner mystery.
• When I try to show them
• They say they still can’t see.
• I say,
• It’s in the arch of my back,
• The sun of my smile,
• The ride of my breasts,
• The grace of my style.

• I’m a woman

• Phenomenally.
• Phenomenal woman,

• That’s me.

• Now you understand
• Just why my head’s not bowed.
• I don’t shout or jump about
• Or have to talk real loud.
• When you see me passing
• It ought to make you proud.
• I say,
• It’s in the click of my heels,
• The bend of my hair,
• the palm of my hand,
• The need of my care,
• ‘Cause I’m a woman
• Phenomenally.
• Phenomenal woman,
• That’s me.