Amanda Gorman Quotes

American poet and activist

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Amanda Gorman (born 7 March 1998) is an American poet and social activist. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015, and became the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017. She studied sociology at Harvard College, and graduated cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received worldwide attention with her recitation of her poem "The Hill We Climb" written for the inauguration of US President Joe Biden.

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Alternative Names: Amanda S. C. Gorman

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[Stereotypies are demonstrated in many animals, including elephants, horses, polar bears, macaques & humans. Because stereotypic behavior is not seen in the wild, it is considered a strong indicator of poor psychological health in the caged organism. Thus, stereotypies are termed abnormal (or, rather, the captive environment is the true abnormality). Smaller cages can exacerbate stereotypies. To be captive, then, is to be rendered a trope of oneself.]

Our goal is never revenge, just restoration. Not dominance, just dignity. Not fear, just freedom. Just justice.

Our country, which we do not
forsake for being un-great, that
we should find by being good.

Anxiety is a living body, Poised beside us like a shadow. It is the last creature standing, The only beast who loves us Enough to stay.

America,
How to sing
Our name,
Singular,
Signed,
Singed.

These words need not be red for our blood to run through them.

Lost as we feel, there is no better
Compass than compassion
We find ourselves not by being
The most seen, but the most seeing.

So while once we asked: How could we
possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert: How could catastrophe
possibly prevail over us?

As kids we sat in grass, Fished our hands into the dirt. We felt that damp brown Universe writhe, alert & alive, Earth cupped in the boat of our palms.

Through some fictions we find fact; in some fantasies we discover ourselves & then some. Even without living it, a memory can live on in us. The past is never gone, just not yet found.

There is no simple way to hurt. The real damage is dammed, disrupted. :Inaudible: We must change This ending in every way. * * * Disease is physiological death, Loneliness is a social one, Where the old We collapses like a lung. * * * Some days, we just need a place Where we can bleed in peace. Our only word for this is Poem.

"What is called "great"
Is often grievous & gruesome,
But what is good is worth our words,
Good trouble.
Good fight.
Good will.
Good people.
To be good is to be larger than war.
It is to be more than great."

Disease is physiological death, Loneliness is a social one, Where the old We collapses like a lung.

Last year we stepped onto an elevator. We politely asked the white lady behind us If she could please take the next lift To continue social distancing. Her face flared up like a cross in the night. Are you kidding me? she yelled, Like we’d just declared Elevators for us only Or Yous must enter from the back Or No yous or dogs allowed Or We have the right to refuse Humanity to anyone.

Together, we envision a land that is liberated, not lawless. We create a future that is free, not flawless. Again & again, over & over, We will stride up every mountainside, Magnanimous & modest. We will be protected & served By a force that is honored & honest. This is more than protest. It’s a promise.