Maya Angelou

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, 

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou (2012)

It was with great sadness today I read about the passing of Maya Angelou (civil rights activist, poet and winning author) What a void left in the literary field. She leaves behind an incredible legacy with her spirit of activism, words of inspiration and gift of prose.  

Still I Rise

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 kill 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.

Roasted Pear Salad

Cook's notes: This flavorful side goes well with any grilled entree.

Ingredients:

• 4 pears, halved and cored
• 8 teaspoons fig jam, divided
• 2 tablespoons fig jam, divided
• 5 ounces soft goat cheese, cut into 8 slices
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling, divided
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 4 cups watercress (may sub baby arugula or spinach)
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325°F Place pear halves cut-side up in 2 large baking dishes.
• Spoon 1 teaspoons jam in center of each pear half. Top with goat cheese rounds, and lightly drizzle with oil. 
• Bake pears 30 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown.
• Whisk together remaining 2 TB. fig jam, lemon juice, and mustard in bowl. Whisk in 1 Tbs. olive oil.
• Divide watercressor salad greens among 8 serving plates. Sprinkle with onion and walnuts. Top each with pear half, and drizzle with dressing.