Brown eyes, tinted by the sun
Tossing until the tangling is undone
Time to rise and be gracious
With faith, no entity can break us
We rise, live in our purpose
Only a few see beneath the surface
Trust and be true to yourself

Dawn begins to break
I stand at the window, awake
Tasks of the day floating in my mind
Then I feel you from behind
Holding tight, your head on my shoulder
Squeezing me like I showed her
You place your hand on my heart
The ruckus from out couldn't make us part
Smooth reversal without breaking the embrace
Holding you this way is my favorite place
From behind, in the perfect place to whisper in your ear
Inhaling your essence, sweeter than honey
How did I get so lucky

Wherever in the world you are
I truly hope you aren't far
Your safe space is warm
A place to transform
Turn off the tough exterior
The outside world is inferior
Creating a world of our own
You are no longer alone
Your throne awaits

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

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.

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

In a world where the minds split
Falling into a fiery pit
Balancing reality and imagination
Mounting up into mounds of frustration
The world feels so heavy right now
Unsure of which way to move or how
Taking facts and drawing them out
The various changes leave in doubt
Imagination wants to play
Control feels so serious right now
Torn between what's within reach and beyond
Time to sever the bond
A battle between sadness and happiness
Most days are either-or, and some are both
The one constant is that those are the choices
There's no in-between without the voices