I wanted to make a very short announcement of her passing, allowing other articles about her speak for me. They were eloquent pieces from other bloggers full of pictures, quotes, and reflections. I wondered what I had to add to the collection of people who seemed to love her more than I. How many words are there? When I finish, will it be enough? She was everything, and her words moved an entire world of people. Her wisdom, courage, and style spoke to women (especially those of color!) everywhere. Spoke to people. She will be with us forever, through the power and spirit of her work.
My words--not perfect, not put together, not as elegant. The heaviness of my heart still lingers, but the inability to speak on it in my personal space has been lifted. I spoke of Maya everywhere else but Peridot Dynasty. She is part of the reason I write. Though my dreams of meeting her once I "came up" have been changed, the show must go on.
I will celebrate her life by absorbing her writing. From essays to poetry to cookbooks, I will be spending time with Dr. Angelou in the best way I know how--by letting my eyes dance across her words, by letting my ears hear the perfection of her voice (I LOVE the way she says "poetry"), and watching her in every inch of her cosmic grace as she glides across my screen.
I won't talk about what I thought concerning her living forever. A lot of people have shared a similar sentiment, although we knew no one lives forever. I don't think we--her fans, appreciators, and the like--were ready for it. Losing a great person is never easy, and it's always about not having enough time for this and that. Life happens, no matter how tightly we hold on to the ones we love.
I believe Maya spent her time wisely. She rose above so many obstacles in her life! We can't forget those things. Don't wash away the struggles, readers. Don't look over the darker parts in her life, focusing on I guess what one would call the "acceptable" parts. She wrote about every part of her life, and it wasn't always pretty or perfect. She shared her story with the world not only to express, but to reach and gather. She shared and created to help someone else be able to identify.
These words are not perfect, they are not gathered correctly, but they come from my heart. I will probably edit them a thousand times after I think of something else I want to say. I will come back with a new link after seeing Mother Maya on the OWN Network or somewhere else. "Something" will come to me, and you might see something new on these pages. This entry blossomed from simply posting links to attempting to work with my feelings on the writing world losing Maya. Of course it's not like the others. This is all my style, all from my heart.
What I loved the most--she kept it modern and had so many jewels of wisdom on Twitter and Facebook. Among tweets about silly boys, war, and whatever else folks had on their minds, we had Mother Maya weaving gems of wisdom into the crowns of our brains. On Facebook, it was no different. Maya was everywhere. She will always be there...everywhere. I think that blogger Luvvie said it best with this quote from her blog:
"There’s power in knowing that you lived life well and good. Maya did that, and the caged bird is free.
What great things can be said about Maya Angelou that’ll suffice? None of it will be enough. But we speak her name with the utmost respect. Mother, Poet, Activist, Writer, Giver of Verbal Life, Dream Enabler, Giant, Goddess, Queen, Matron Saint of Get Life Right.Mother Maya, girl. Listen. You phenomenal portrait of poise. You bombastically brilliant, bright, blazing symbol of bravery and goodness. You epic, life-affirming, life-changing, life-loving, life-living, luminous luminary.Stay rising, sis. You did so good and we thank you for it. Rise rise rise in power."
Rest in Peace AND Power, Maya.
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