Million Man March Poem

The night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach,
I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach.
Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound,
You couldn't even call out my name.
You were helpless and so was I,
But unfortunately throughout history
You've worn a badge of shame.

I say, the night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark
And the walls have been steep.

But today, voices of old spirit sound
Speak to us in words profound,
Across the years, across the centuries,
Across the oceans, and across the seas.
They say, draw near to one another,
Save your race.
You have been paid for in a distant place,
The old ones remind us that slavery's chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.

The night has been long,
The pit has been deep,
The night has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

The hells we have lived through and live through still,
Have sharpened our senses and toughened our will.
The night has been long.
This morning I look through your anguish
Right down to your soul.
I know that with each other we can make ourselves whole.
I look through the posture and past your disguise,
And see your love for family in your big brown eyes.

I say, clap hands and let's come together in this meeting ground,
I say, clap hands and let's deal with each other with love,
I say, clap hands and let us get from the low road of indifference,
Clap hands, let us come together and reveal our hearts,
Let us come together and revise our spirits,
Let us come together and cleanse our souls,
Clap hands, let's leave the preening
And stop impostering our own history.
Clap hands, call the spirits back from the ledge,
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation,
Courtesy into our bedrooms,
Gentleness into our kitchen,
Care into our nursery.

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.

And still we rise. 

Maya Angelou  

 It uses repeated words of past tense to show that the horrific events were in the past and they are now moving forward and putting their struggles behind them (stanza 5)The use of repetition creates a chanting effect through diction by repeating “i say clap hands.” this shows union amongst people and that they are in it together. (stanza 7)●The connotations in the words sharpened toughened shows strength, the deliberate use3 of these words how us that they are gaining from their past experiences of oppression and they are thinking positively and optimistically about the future. (stanza 6)●The choice of words effects the mood and tone of the poem for example in stanza 8 the word “impostering” is used in the sentence “stop impostering our own history” this is saying that the black people need to stop dwelling and morning about the past and instead focus on the present. They need to do this in order to move forward.●The way the poem is structured at the end of the poem creates an uplifting effect. By having the words “clap hands” at the beginning  of every other line, allows the reader to join in  and be part of the movement. Having the phrase “and still we rise” in a separate line, adds emphasis to the fact that they are rising up together. (stanza 8)●Throughout the poem personal pronouns are used to connect with the reader on a personal level. It has the effect of making them feel like they are being spoken to directly. This draws the reader in and allows them to feel empathetic towards the people who were part of the Million Man March. ●The use of diction has been used throughout the poem in arrangement, connotations, pronouns, repetition and mood/tone. The combined use of these all contribute to making the theme and ideas visible in the poem. This is the idea of the black people rising up together for equality and overcoming (the theme) oppression.