MAYA ANGELOU QUOTES

American poet (1928-2014)

Maya Angelou quote

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.

MAYA ANGELOU

"Still I Rise"


If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die.

MAYA ANGELOU

Facebook post, Jan. 25, 2013


Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

MAYA ANGELOU

attributed, Telling It Like It Is

Tags: success


A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

MAYA ANGELOU

attributed, The Law of Attraction

Tags: singing


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.

MAYA ANGELOU

interview, Beautifully Said Magazine, Jul. 2012


There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

MAYA ANGELOU

attributed, Black and Powerful


You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

MAYA ANGELOU

Letter to My Daughter


Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.

MAYA ANGELOU

Letter to My Daughter


The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

MAYA ANGELOU

All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

Tags: home


You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.

MAYA ANGELOU

Facebook post, Jun. 9, 2013


Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

MAYA ANGELOU

USA Today, Mar. 5, 1988

Tags: courage


Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

MAYA ANGELOU

Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer

Tags: gratitude


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.

MAYA ANGELOU

Phenomenal Woman

Tags: women


The idea of overcoming is always fascinating to me. It's fascinating because few of us realize how much energy we have expended just to be here today. I don't think we give ourselves enough credit for the overcoming.

MAYA ANGELOU

Facebook post, Apr. 16, 2014


What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.

MAYA ANGELOU

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now


There is a place in you that you must keep inviolate, a place that you must keep clean. A place where you say to any intruder, "Back up, don't you know I'm a child of God."

MAYA ANGELOU

Facebook post, May 26, 2013


Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

MAYA ANGELOU

attributed, Fifty Years of Living, Laughing and Loving

Tags: trust


My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.

MAYA ANGELOU

Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer


Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

MAYA ANGELOU

Facebook post, Nov. 22, 2013

Tags: forgiveness


You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot -- it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

MAYA ANGELOU

interview, O Magazine, Apr. 2011

Tags: experience