Phenomentally Hollow
By Faith.Marie
62 lines, I was born in 1962
after Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
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.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
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.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
When I grow old I wanna live Pretty
I wanna take a spoon in my hand and taste life like Women
I wanna do the simple things we do like Wonder
Sit up on my own and walk Where
I want,I wanna be a storyteller likeMy
Mother at 85 who lived a Secret
Life not succumbing to infantile times and lies
Or being at the mercy of a man,I’m
Hoping I remember it all,Not
Trying to forget spending time with Him Cute
On bended knees praying Father please or
Remembering recipesbuilt
on hymnsfor Him, I wanna remember how to
chew my food and wear my suit
and all I learned in school from life and a
Word from the holy book and the fashion
Trends walking the straight and narrow of a model’s
Path serving Him praising Him the size
And prize are just so huge, But
I truly wanna remember living for you,When
And how I used to know you and you knew whoI
wasandwho my familywas and I’dstart
Afresh not having to figure out where I was and whereto
Go fearlessly and I wanna be able totell
My family that I’m stuck alive in a carcass and that I miss them,
I don’t wanna be in a shell that houses me alive andThey
Can’t communicate with me cuz I can’t talk or Think
I don’t want my son feeding me like I once did,I’m
Wishing on a star wondering whytelling
My truth ends in living deadlies
I want the goodness life brings,I
Don’t wanna live a hollow life unable to say
A word yet my heart beats, blood pumps,It’s
Not normal to be healthy physicallyyet dead In
Myhead, when I grow old I wanna just remember The
Hallowed be thy name not a hollow me, I wanna reach
As far as I can see and grab hold of
Hope, and the painsmy
Heart use to feel, holding me in itsarms
Is the desire I yearn for, not The
Torment of a disease that has thespan
To outgrow my growth full of
Laughter and beautiful noise that my
children bring to life, their songs and dancing hips
their troubles and defeats, The
good the bad and the ugly stride
side by side happily ever after above all,of
course I wanna live uniquely and wonderfully withmy
Mental faculties intact every step
Of the way until I am 103 The
Age my grandmother lived till the curl
Of her soul gave in to the spirit of
Antiquity, I wanna live the life ofmy
Grandma’s past existing not coexisting like lips
That can’t impart strong morals or perspectives, I’m
Living for today for the moment a
True occurrence surrounded by many, a woman
Living for others making sure they’re ok Phenomenally
That they are clothed and trained ready for a Phenomenal
World that doesn’t always accept them, I’m that woman
My mother is and the grandmother my grandma was, That’s
Who I wanna be alert fighting to exist within me
