Better late than never

So yesterday was International Women's Day, which, as I've found out, is a big huge deal in Germany--especially the East. But unfortunately the only feedback I heard yesterday was negative: complaints about men who didn't live up to the Hallmarkian expectations with roses and dates and whatnot. Hmm. I find it hard to get behind holidays that just set people up for a fall or force the purchase of pink fuzzy doo-dads. But on the other hand, Women's Day is a nice excuse to honor the beautiful and amazing women friends I am blessed to have. And to share with you all a poem that has been dancing on the edge of my consciousness for a while, because single lines of it are printed on the pajamas that my grandmother gave me for Christmas.

For all you phenomenal women out there, a tribute by Maya Angelou:

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.

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 of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.