Substance of things unseen
Of children's dreams
Those believed for
Secretly yearned for
That of my beating heart

The hand that wipes these tears
Stills my ranting fears
Locks the monsters back in their closet
Rocks me back to sleep
That of my lonely whisper

The voice of lovers missed
The dancer with broken bones
The caged bird that still sings
The broken girl that still dreams
Keeps calm and carries on

Hope,
The lonely voice inside my head.

I'm afraid of the way you can sway my emotions.

How can I build restricted area signals on my heart,
when you so easily tear down the walls against you?

I'm afraid of you.

You've entered into me without my permission.
Yet somehow, I allow you to stay.

If soulmates exist
I think it's an awful thing
How one person can own me
And have me know
There is no other
That fit quite like them

That every embrace
Just won't do
Not quite like theirs
And every breath I take
Without them
Is not quite the same
Not as full-filling

I mean think of the horror
Of comparing each moment
To each shared with them
Each laugh not quite as hearty
Each kiss not quite as breathless
Each encounter just not enough
For you could have more with them

I just can't comprehend
How nobody else will do
Not quite enough
So in everyone
I spend the moments
Looking for them
Waiting for them
Wondering if I passed them
Maybe in the street
Or in a bus somewhere

So if soulmates exist
I am afraid
I don't want to meet mine

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.

Speak to me about regrets
as you reassure me I'm making the right choice

Talk to me about the fragility of human beings
as you remind me how strong I am

Tell me about the human memory
as you promise you'll never forget this moment

Mutter that I'm perfect as I am
as you gently hint I should ditch my bad habits

Whisper 'forever' in my ears
as you explain that life changes despite all odds

I'm asking you to be honest

Speak the two voices in your head


Instead of sugarcoating my rocks
Please, put pebbles in my sugar