My Arkansas Lyrics
There is a deep brooding
In Arkansas.
Old crimes like moss pend
From poplar trees.
The sullen earth
Is too much too
Red for comfort.
Sunrise seems to hesitate
And in that second
Lose its
Incandescent aim, and
Dusk no more shadows
Than the noon.
The past is brighter yet
Old hates and
Ante-bellum lace, are rent
But not discarded
Today is yet to come
In Arkansas.
It writhes. It writhes in awful
Waves of brooding
In Arkansas.
Old crimes like moss pend
From poplar trees.
The sullen earth
Is too much too
Red for comfort.
Sunrise seems to hesitate
And in that second
Lose its
Incandescent aim, and
Dusk no more shadows
Than the noon.
The past is brighter yet
Old hates and
Ante-bellum lace, are rent
But not discarded
Today is yet to come
In Arkansas.
It writhes. It writhes in awful
Waves of brooding
About
Genius Annotation
Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, and was raised in Stamps, Arkansas. During the 1930’s and 1940’s Arkansas represented a period of brutality, and racial discrimination. In time, Maya Angelou not only became an influential figure to the public but also a celebrated poet, memoirist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, and civil rights activist.
Her most famous work was written in 1969, “ I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” talks about her early life in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas with her brother and grandmother.
http://www.mayaangelou.com/biography/
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Comments