But Still I Rise

 

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

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?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
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

Interesting articles

Hollywood actresses fed up with fluffy interview questions

Successful women are still being asked about their bodies above all else, sending the message that our appearance is what defines us; that it is our most crucial asset.

Why 6 Year Old Girls want to be Sexy

When shown a set of two dolls, one in revealing clothes and the other in trendy by covered-up clothes, about 70 percent of girls in the study said they looked more like the sexy doll and that the sexy doll was more popular than the non-sexy doll.

Look where we went today...

Florence writes the soundtrack to my life

Lammas (Loaf Mass)

It's the start of the harvest season in our calendar. We started the day listening to Lisa Thiel then once the morning jobs were done we took our pup & the dog the in-laws are looking after for a long walk to the woods.

A picked a perfect spot for a snack break



Trying out my new Lunchbot



Our happy puppy



A natural maypole



So much green



Practising her tree climbing skills



While A was taking a well needed nap, I prepared some dough (including kneading by hand, something I haven't done for a while)

A shaping & decorating her bread



My bread rolls with Spirals and pentagrams



The table set for our Lammas feast



We finished the day with the Lammas chapter of Luna Moon Hare before bed.

Anything Soup

A damp day demanded soup.


She loves to help with chopping



There's always time to play with the vegetables. Apparently this is A & Daddy





Yum

Surprise Party & Birthday Meal

Both of J's parents turned 60 this month so after much planning, preparation & secrecy it was finally time for the big surprise. We weren't able to tell the nephews or A, because they wouldn't have been able to keep a secret.

Oh the lies we had to tell, to get phone numbers, to explain why we couldn't go out that lunchtime, to get them to come to our house at EXACTLY 5pm!!

J & his sister had managed to pull together a pretty awesome combination of people and as worried as I was, they didn't actually suspect a thing

The guests of honour arriving... the surprise moment!!



J cooking up a storm on the BBQ



Impromptu Jam #1



Impromptu Jam #2



Birthday Cake (They'd already both had a heavily iced one, so I went for a simple sugar free banana cake)



The Cousins, who can never all look in the same direction at the same time
(This is always the way & I took 5 photos at this point to try and get a good one. Maybe I should 'shop them together)




On Sunday we went out for the planned part of their birthday. A carvery meal at The Old Reindeer. I had so. much. food. It is really hard not to at a carvery.

Like Father, Like Son
(I believe this is the "She's got that bl**dy camera out again" look)



Playing with Dolly while waiting for desert



My cheesecake *swoons*



All in all a busy but wonderfully memorable weekend.