Maya Angelou was an extraordinary voice of the 20th century — a celebrated writer, civil rights activist, and iconic poet whose words have influenced countless lives.
Most notably, her poetry is an exploration of the human experience, marked by resilience and a genuine sense of hopefulness.
You may have previously read our comprehensive collection of Maya Angelou quotes — and now we’ve compiled and organized this list of all of her poems.
Maya Angelou’s most famous and influential poems include:
- “Still I Rise”
- “Caged Bird”
- “Phenomenal Woman”
- “On the Pulse of Morning”
- “Woman Work”
- “These Yet to Be United States”
- “Weekend Glory”
- “Harlem Hopscotch”
- “The Mothering Blackness
- “Our Grandmothers”
As you explore her complete works in this guide, we hope it helps you dive into Maya Angelou’s work, discover new poems, and even pick up one of her books.
We have no doubt that her words have the power to transform your life and the world.
You might also like: The Ultimate Guide to Maya Angelou Quotes
You might also like: The Ultimate Guide to Amanda Gorman Quotes
By the way, some of the links in this article (like books!) are affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
List of Maya Angelou Poems
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ’fore I Diiie — Part One: Where Love is a Scream of Anguish
Collection release date: August 8, 1971
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“They Went Home”
“The Gamut”
“A Zorro Man”
“To a Man”
“Late October”
“No Loser, No Weeper”
“When You Come to Me”
“Remembering”
“In a Time”
“Tears”
“The Detached”
“To a Husband”
“Accident”
“Let’s Majeste”
“After”
“The Mothering Blackness”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“On Diverse Deviations”
“Mourning Grace”
“How I Can Lie to You”
“Sounds Like Pearls”
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ’fore I Diiie — Part Two: Just Before the World Ends
Collection release date: August 12, 1971
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“When I Think About Myself”
“On a Bright Day, Next Week”
“Letter to an Aspiring Junkie”
“Miss Scarlett, Mr. Rhett and Other Latter-Day Saints”
“Times-Square-Shoeshine-Composition”
“Faces”
“To a Freedom Fighter”
“Riot: 60’s”
“We Saw Beyond Our Seeming”
“Black Ode”
“No No No No”
“My Guilt”
“The Calling of Names”
“On Working White Liberals”
“Sepia Fashion Show”
“The Thirteens (Black)”
“The Thirteens (White)”
“Harlem Hopscotch”
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well: Part One
Collection release date: 1975
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Pickin Em Up and Laying Em Down”
“Here’s to Adhering”
“On Reaching Forty”
“The Telephone”
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well: Part Two
Collection release date: 1975
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Passing Time”
“Now Long Ago”
“Greyday”
“Poor Girl”
“Come, And Be My Baby”
“Senses of Insecurity”
“Alone”
“Communication I”
“Communication II”
“Wonder”
“A Conceit”
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well: Part Three
Collection release date: 1975
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Request”
“Africa”
“America”
“For Us, Who Dare Not Dare”
“Lord, in My Heart”
“Artful Pose”
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well: Part Four
Collection release date: 1975
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“The Couple”
“The Pusher”
“Chicken-Licken”
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well: Part Five
Collection release date: 1975
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“I Almost Remember”
“Prisoner”
“Woman Me”
“John J.”
“Southeast Arkansas”
“Song for the Old Ones”
“Child Dead in Old Seas”
“Take Time Out”
“Elegy”
“Reverses”
“Little Girl Speakings”
“This Winter Day”
And Still I Rise: Part One: Touch Me, Life, Not Softly
Collection release date: August 12, 1978
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“A Kind of Love, Some Say”
“Country Lover”
“Remembrance”
“Where We Belong, A Duet”
“Phenomenal Woman”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“Men”
“Refusal”
“Just for a Time”
And Still I Rise: Part Two: Traveling
Collection release date: August 12, 1978
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Junkie Monkey Reel”
“The Lesson”
“California Prodigal”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“My Arkansas”
“Through the Inner City to the Suburbs”
“Lady Luncheon Club”
“Momma Welfare Roll”
“The Singer Will Not Sing”
“Willie”
“To Beat the Child Was Bad Enough”
“Woman Work”
“One More Round”
“The Traveler”
“Kin”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“The Memory”
And Still I Rise: Part Three: And Still I Rise
Collection release date: August 12, 1978
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Still I Rise”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“Ain’t That Bad?”
“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”
“Bump d’Bump”
“On Aging”
“In Retrospect”
“Just Like Job”
“Call Letters: Mrs. V. B.”
“Thank You, Lord”
Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?
Collection release date: 1983
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Awaking in New York”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“A Good Woman Feeling Bad”
“The Health-Food Diner”
“A Georgia Song”
Unmeasured Tempo”
“Amoebaean for Daddy”
“Recovery”
“Impeccable Conception”
“Caged Bird”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“Avec Merci, Mother”
“Arrival”
“A Plagued Journey”
Read this poem for free via The Poetry Foundation
“Starvation”
“Contemporary Announcement”
“Prelude to a Parting”
“Martial Choreography”
“To a Suitor”
“Insomniac”
“Weekend Glory”
“The Lie”
“Prescience”
“Family Affairs”
“Changes”
“Brief Innocence”
“The Last Decision”
“Slave Coffle”
“Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?”
“My Life Has Turned to Blue”
I Shall Not Be Moved
Collection release date: August 23, 1990
Get this collection: Amazon | Bookshop
Poems included in this collection:
“Worker’s Song”
“Human Family”
“Man Bigot”
“Old Folks Laugh”
“Is Love”
“Forgive”
“Insignificant”
“Love Letter”
“Equality”
“Coleridge Jackson”
“Why Are They Happy People”
“Son to Mother”
“Known to Eve and Me”
“These Yet to Be United States”
“Me and My Work”
“Changing”
“Born That Way”
“Televised”
“Nothing Much”
“Glory Falls”
“London”
“Savior”
“Many and More”
“The New House”
“Our Grandmothers”
“Preacher, Don’t Send Me”
“Fightin’ Was Natural”
“Loss of Love”
“Seven Women’s Blessed Assurance”
“In My Missouri”
“They Ask Why”
“When Great Trees Fall”
More Poems
“On the Pulse of Morning”
Release date: January 20, 1993
Read this poem for free via Poets.org
“A Brave and Startling Truth”
Release date: June 1995
“From a Black Woman to a Black Man”
Release date: 1995
“Amazing Peace”
Release date: 2005
Read this poem for free via Oprah’s website
“Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me”
Release date: April 11, 2006
“Celebrations, Rituals of Peace and Prayer”
Release date: October 24, 2006
“Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem”
Release date: December 1, 2005
“We Had Him”
Release date: July 7, 2009
“His Day is Done”
Release date: January 21, 2014
Read this poem for free via Nelson Mandela’s website
