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Still I Rise

by | Dec 10, 2025 | Maya Angelou, Poems, Poetry

Still I Rise

By Maya Angelou

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 backyard.

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 Still I Rise

Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years

Equivocal: Ambiguous and Uncertain

Equivocal: Ambiguous and Uncertain

by | Dec 9, 2025 | Emerald Book Club, Vocabulary

Word of The Day

Equivocal

(adjective) primarily means open to more than one interpretation or of an uncertain nature. It can apply to words, statements, actions, or results.

📘 Definitions

open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous.
uncertain or questionable in nature.
of doubtful signification

not clear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, or confusing and able to be understood in two different ways.

✍️ Example Sentence

My Partners response to contributing an equivalent amount for our bills was equivocal

Origin and History

"of doubtful signification, capable of being understood in different senses," c. 1600, with -al (1) + Late Latin aequivocus "of identical sound, of equal voice, of equal significance, ambiguous, of like sound," past participle of aequivocare. This is from aequus "equal" (see equal (adj.)) + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak").
Earlier in same sense was equivoque (late 14c.). Its opposite is univocal. Related: Equivocally (1570s).

Related entries & more

🌱 Why We Love This Word

This word is perfect for many scenarios in life that are vague or are not clear. It applies to many situations where clarity is not key. Examples are Relationships, Future, lottery, Unaccountability and of course our British Weather. 

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Be part of Vocabulary Tuesdays at Emerald Book Club, where we explore new words, sharpen our language skills, and connect through the magic of expression.

Death by Brandi Young

by | Dec 8, 2025 | Death Poems, Poems, Poetry

Death Poem by Brandi Young

Death is forever
So don’t flirt with suicide

Death is painful
Stay away from knives

Death is not for lovers
So don’t lie

Death is not for me
So don’t even try

Death is clever
So be careful

Death is never fun
Stay away from strangers

Death is never pleasing
So don’t get caught up in the hype

Death is never fair
So get use to it

Death is always occurring
So don’t ignore it

Death is never what you expected
Sorry but it has to happen

Death is not for you
Please don’t give up

Death is forever
Don’t forget it

  • Still I Rise

    Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

  • Equivocal: Ambiguous and Uncertain

    (adjective) primarily means open to more than one interpretation or of an uncertain nature. It can apply to words, statements, actions, or results.

  • Death by Brandi Young

    Death Poem by Brandi Young Death is forever So don’t flirt with suicide Death is painful Stay away from knives

  • And Death Shall Have No Dominion

    And Death Shall Have No Dominion by Dylan Thomas And death shall have no dominion. Dead man naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad…

  • Let Me Die A Youngman’s Death

    Let me die a youngman’s deathnot a clean and in betweenthe sheets holy water deathnot a famous-last-wordspeaceful out of breath death When I’m 73and in constant good tumourmay I be mown down at dawnby a bright red sports caron my way homefrom an allnight party Or when I’m 91with silver hairand sitting in a barber’s…

  • Time Moved Quickly by Micron Jan

    Time Moved Quickly ime slipped past us quicker than breath, hours falling away before we knew to hold them.

And Death Shall Have No Dominion

by | Dec 8, 2025 | Death Poems, Poems, Poetry

And Death Shall Have No Dominion by Dylan Thomas

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead man naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

Let Me Die A Youngman’s Death

by | Dec 8, 2025 | Emerald Book Club

Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and in between
the sheets holy water death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death

Time Moved Quickly by Micron Jan

by | Dec 8, 2025 | Life Poems, Poems, Poetry

Time Moved Quickly

Time slipped past us
quicker than breath,
hours falling away
before we knew to hold them.

I keep replaying the small things—
your laugh, the warm hush
of simply sharing space—
bright sparks in a world too fast.

Our time was brief,
cut short before its season,
but I still carry its echo—
a soft reminder
of what we were
in the rushing dark.

Micron Jan

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