Hello and welcome to the Daily Poem. I'm Heidi White, and today is Monday, March 8th. March is

Women's History Month, and today is International Women's Day. And in honor of this special

occasion, I'm going to read for you one of the most famous and beloved poems by a woman for and about women. The poet is Maya Angelou, who was born in

1928 and lived until 2014. She is an acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and author.

And she did many interesting things in her lifetime, actually. She was also an

actress, a composer, a singer, a dancer, and she was Hollywood's first female black director.

But she became most famous as a writer, essayist, playwright, and poet. Maya Angela was also an

educator. She served as the Reynolds Professor of American Studies

at Wake Forest University. And in 1975, Carol Newbauer of the Southern Women Writers

wrote of Maya Angelou that she was recognized as, quote, a spokesperson for all people who

are committed to raising the moral standards of living in the

United States."

What's a legacy to have left behind through her work in her lifetime?

And today's poem that I'm going to read, like I said, you'll probably recognize it immediately.

It is an incredibly famous poem, and rightly so, phenomenal woman by Maya Angelou. This is how it immediately. It is an incredibly famous poem and rightly so, phenomenal woman by Maya Angelou.

This is how it goes. Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I'm not cute or built to suit to

fashion model 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, into a man, the fellow stand or fall down

on their knees. Then they swarm around me, a hive of honeybees. I say, it's in 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 smile, the ride of my breasts,

...