MAYA, BABY!!!!!

One of my favorite authors ever is the great Maya Angelou. She has a way about her that is regal yet down-to-earth; down home yet worldly; scholarly yet hilarious; stately yet a vixen at heart. Not only is she an accomplished writer/poet, but she has also been an actress, a dancer and a singer travelling and entertaining people all around the world. But her greatest gift to me is her brilliance with organizing words to elicit thought and emotion. She touches me in a way that few other authors do. She is a true American treasure and a living legend. I found this video which literally brought tears to my eyes:


David Alan Grier did a hilarious spoof of Maya from SNL several years back - check it out:


And in honor of Maya and autumn:

LATE OCTOBER by Maya Angelou

Carefully
the leaves of autumn
sprinkle down the tinny
sound of little dyings
and skies sated
of ruddy sunsets
of roseate dawns
roil ceaselessly in
cobweb greys and turn
to black
for comfort.

Only lovers
see the fall
a signal end to endings
a gruffish gesture alerting
those who will not be alarmed
that we begin to stop
in order simply
to begin
again.