Maya Angelou Quotes

American poet, author, and civil rights activist (1928–2014)

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Maya Angelou (4 April, 1928 – 28 May, 2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was an American poet, author, memoirist, actress, director, producer, writer, singer, dancer, and civil rights activist.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Birth Name: Marguerite Annie Johnson

Alternative Names: Marguerite Johnson • Marguerite Ann Johnson • Marguerite Anne Johnson

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"To those who have given up on love: I say, "Trust life a little bit.

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.

I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it.

Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours.
In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.

Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

Anything that works against you can also work for you once you understand the Principle of Reverse.

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.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill,
of things unknown, but longed for still,
and his tune is heard on the distant hill,
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.

There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.

Some people cannot see a good thing when it is right here, right now. Others can sense a good thing coming when it is days, months, or miles away.

If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.