By Maya Angelou
 by Maya Angelou
Date: 23 November 1998

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies...
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
And 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 steps
    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 the men
   They either stand or
    Fall to 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 of my waist
  And the joy in my feet.

 I'm a woman
 Phenomenal woman
 That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
 What they see in me
  They try so much
   But they can't touch
    My inner mystery.
 When I try to show them
 They say they still can't see.

I say
 It's in the arch of my back
 The sun of my smile
 The ride of my breasts
 The grace of my style.

 I'm a woman
 Phenomenally
 Phenomenal woman
 That's me.

Now you understand
 Just why my head's not bowed
  I don't shout or jump about
   Or have to talk real loud
    When you see me passing
     It ought to make you proud.

I say
 It's in the click of my heels
 The bend of my hair
 The palm of my hand
 The need for my care.

 'Cause I'm a woman
 Phenomenally
 Phenomenal woman
 That's me.