Awaking In New York
by: Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya's real name was Marguerite Annie Johnson, she first got her nickname from her older brother Bailey Jr. and she was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a very talented author, poet, dancer, actress and singer. Her most famous work was from the poem "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings". Maya was also active in the civil rights movement, she worked with people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She even recited one of her poems at President Bill Clinton's inauguration.
Maya Angelou's Inaugural Poem (1993)
Awaking In New York
Curtains forcing their will
against the wind,
children sleep,
exchanging dreams with
seraphim. The city
drags itself awake on
subway straps; and
I, an alarm, awake as a
rumor of war,
lie stretching into dawn,
unasked and unheeded.
Maya speaks about how the narrator (we do not know who) feels empty and sad through his or her day, awaking in New York like a machine just like every single day with the same routine.