Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

We sate among the stalls at Bethlehem;
The dumb kine from their fodder turning them,
Softened their horn’d faces,
To almost human gazes
Toward the newly Born:
The simple shepherds from the star-lit brooks
Brought visionary looks,
As yet in their astonished hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tongue:
The magi of the East, in sandals worn,
Knelt reverent, sweeping round,
With long pale beards, their gifts upon the ground,
The incense, myrrh, and gold
These baby hands were impotent to hold:
So let all earthlies and celestials wait
Upon thy royal state.
Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may **** me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

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 *******,
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.

Innocence and Beauty
Peace and Grace
Eyes of fire, soul eternal

Child of the light
Come down to steal our hearts

Every inch as human as can be
Soft skin, tiny toes, little nose

Every day to grow and learn and change
While moulding your very world
Every ounce of life to cherish
Each moment more important than the last

Our love for you, unconditional
will only continue to grow

Every corner of our hearts
Will hold a piece of you forever

Spinning and swirling with the winds of change
as the sun shines down on my tired face

Nods and smiles from people passing by
this is my time and this is my place

Who are we if not for our love
what drives life to be worth living

How can we cope with the sands of time
how can we go on without forgiving

So many things that are easy to hold on to
so many tears we never cried

But what fills the voids of empty promises
what relights the flame that has died

If not for ourselves then for who
do we squirm and struggle and fight

We trust in the freedom that  we know awaits us
We must have faith, for this tunnel ends in light

Sometimes you consume me
sometimes you are nowhere to be found
you come and you go without warning



Time for the evolving spirit
hope for tomorrows plans
but everything is nothing without you



The tide follows the moon
the moon follows the sun
man follows you into the future



We are all different
not one the same as the other
yet we all long the same for your presence
in our hearts, in our minds, in our souls



Some know you by name
some were born with you flowing through their veins
but some must seek you out
and some go through life never knowing you



But me, I have met with you before
though I don't know how to call upon you always
I pray I find the road to you in my soul

I long to unlock your chains
to set you free within me

I want it from you
you want it from me
we want it from the world
we want it for free

everyone knows
you only get what you give
love only grows
according to how we live

we are but mirrors
reflecting the light
blinding each other
doing "what's right"

I will give you my all
even if you give me nothing

I know I may fall
but please

let me die loving