A great tree has fallen….

Sure, I have tears in my eyes, but I wouldn’t really describe them as sad tears. I think these are tears of pride. I’m so proud of humanity for having a voice like hers. What a life! What a soul! What a woman!!! Please read this poem of hers….

When Great Trees Fall

When great trees fall,
rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down
in tall grasses,
and even elephants
lumber after safety.

When great trees fall
in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses
eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,
the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile.
We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly,
see with
a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken.

Great souls die and
our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls,
dependent upon their
nurture,
now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed
and informed by their
radiance,
fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold
caves.

And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.

“Nothing will work unless you do.”

I remember being “forced” to read “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” in school, and then coming out the other end of that book a changed person. Somehow better. And wiser. And more loving. I am astonished by the truth in the things she writes. I am filled with hope and courage by the witness of the love and strength that was born out of such pain and hurt. Her story and her words and her life scream out “GOD IS WITH US!!!” We had that for 86 years, and her story and her words and her life are still with us, and they live on.

Here are a few of her words for you to consider:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creation.”

“My hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.”

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically. But nothing consistently without courage.”

So I’m not sad that Maya Angelou died…. I happy that she lived! In a world filled with so much garbage, Maya Angelou’s life is a reminder of the beauty of humanity. Where so many use their words to hurt, Maya Angelou’s words are a beacon of hope for a cynical world. We all mourn as great trees fall, but my happiness at the world’s good fortune for having such a great tree…. That happiness overwhelms any sadness. Oh Maya Angelou, thank you for your life! Oh world, be inspired by that life! GOD IS WITH US!!!