I had a great hip hop class the other day. 
I ran into Liz, one my dorm mates from freshman year….it’s hard to believe that was almost 7 years ago. God, I’m old. If anything, cardio stuff always puts in me in a better mood. If I can’t get up the nerve to go back to hankido – hell, I’ll cut myself some slack on this one….it’s pretty understandable, given the whole trauma over sexual assult – I can always invest in more dance classes
and one of my new student workers emailed this lovely poem to me, as part of her training exercises in eudora
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 hand,
The need for my care.
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Phenomenal Woman, by Maya Angelou
More poems can be found at: http://www.mayaangelou.com/