Maya Angelou's Elegy For Michael Jackson
Among the many notable moments at Michael Jackson's funeral was Queen Latifah's reading of the Maya Angelou poem "We Had Him." The popular poetess wrote the poem specifically for the occasion (no easy task) and just that morning asked Latifah to perform it, which she did with spirit and elegance.
"We Had Him" is typical of Angelou's work: inspirational and accessible, confident, and deriving power from its rhythms and repetition. You probably know her popular poem "Phenomenal Woman," and might remember another occasional poem she wrote, "On the Pulse of the Morning," which she read at Bill Clinton's first inauguration.
Here's a transcript of "We Had Him" (I took a best guess at the line breaks--Angelou may have intended them to fall elsewhere):
Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing,
now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips
like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace.
Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time.
No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember
that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love,
and survived and did more than that.
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style.
We had him whether we know who he was or did not know,
he was ours and we were his.
We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.
His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.
And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.
We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing.
He gave us all he had been given.
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square.
In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael.
But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
The audience responded well to the poem. What do you think?
I find more poignancy in this quote from her book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."
Michael didn't seem to have a lot of answers, but for all of his faults, he sang a powerful song.
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I loved the poem and thought it was spot on. I think it was my favorite part of the service.
I don't think I had a favorite part. All of it touched me in a different way. It was a beautiful, poignant, and honorable service. Michael Jackson deserved as much. His energy was there. I could feel it from here.
Thank you John! I have been boycotting any MJ gossip and only clicking those with respect instead of the bottom feeders. Let us remember this high-minded tribute to our treasure, Michael Jackson and let his family have some peace during this difficult time! Maya Angelou, you too are one of our treasures! Thank you!
Me too. I had clicked on one I did not know was going to be a rag on MJ, and it got to me. Today there was a plethora of positive stories, and it just made me feel so good. Thnaks John for spreading good messages.
There is a family after all who lost a beloved son, brother and three children who lost their beloved father. No one would go up to a grieving family and say something unbelievable cruel. Yet stories have been written in that vein.
I am glad to have you contribute to the tributes that the children can read and take to heart. Thank you.
A side note to Ms Angelou's elequency, is this letter written by a Santa Ynez resident. It's a little lengthy,
but I thought it was worth posting.
http://www
I keep thinking about the poem, and the title is so ... perfect. It is wistful, sad/happy, accepting ...
I am barely older than Michael Jackson, I grew up and matured with his music in the background of my life.
My kids were young, pre-teens when Billie Jean and Thriller came along... and his music is the background of their lives.
We would sing along to Michael's songs in the car, on the way to school, to soccer, to visit Grandma.
Two generations.
We will miss him, but, we had him!
"The audience responded well to the poem. What do you think?"
I think it's silly.
The poem was very moving. The words lingered in my mind as the memories surfaced, and it brought tears to my eyes the way it was delivered by Queen Latifah.
I see that you come from one of the unfortunate schools who cut arts education, poets in the schools, and literature from their curriculum. Now that was silly.
Because obviously you are not a fan. So of course you think it's silly.
I am a fan, and I think it's silly.
When she said "he and took a pose on his toes for all of us", I remember him in Billi Jeans.This was a worthy tribute to MJ from someone who comes to help many of us express our deepest feelings, accurately. It is such an excellent and dignifying work that only a phenomenal woman can produce. Thanks Maya.
I thought she said "he took a pose on this NOSE". Thanks for the clarification.
thanx much, I'm sharing it.
Enough already about Michael Jackson, please....
If it bothers you, don't read/watch it. For many of his fans (like me), we'll probably never get tired of the coverage.
It never ceases to amaze me how people who seem so sick of these articles are always the quickest to click and respond to them. There must be some psychological term or classification for it.
Exactly! He and other folks who don't care about MJ should move on to something else instead of flaunting their indifference.
Then go away...com
The article says, "The audience responded well to the poem. What do you think?"
So, 'AsISaid' told us what he thought.
well, AsISaid, did you say, "enough already "after all that ridiculous coverage of anna nicole smith or are you pissed off because mj's death overshadowed the death of your precious farah fawcett? what about princess di? she was not even an American citizen and the mainstream media went beserk over this woman's death. and what was her accomplishments in life? the media's coverage of princess di overshadowed the death of a woman that the world should have honored---Mother Teresa. i am not saying that anna, farah, and princess di should not have been recognized. i am saying that mj's body of work over his fifty years on earth impacted multi-generations of people all over the world in two under rated areas in a civilized society---the arts and humanitarian efforts. so put a sock in it. let people mourn like you people made everyone mourn the death of ronald reagan and gerald ford with ad nauseam media coverage. (other than ascending to the presidency of the US, i still fail to see their importance
RedSuun: and why do you feel the need to demean Farrah?
Tacky comment.
There are other stories you can read. There's a ton of choices. Some of us want to gather together and remember Michael Jackson. We were his fans.
I wonder why people like you who whine "Enough already" are here reading and responding to the very subject of their animosity.
I thought the poem was beautiful but then I thought Michael was a beautiful soul. I connected with many of the words she used to describe his impact on the world or at the very least my world. Some people can only desparage things they can't be a part of. He belonged to those of us who understood his pain and loved him through it all. That is something they will never understand or be privy to so their criticism means nothing. They never had him, we did.
Very, very well stated. That was a beautiful and meaningful peom by Dr. Angelou.
What is a "Elegy?"
A memorial tribute. Google 'dictionary' and check for a longer definition.
el⋅e⋅gy  /ˈɛlɪdʒi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [el-i-jee]
–noun
1. a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead.
2. a poem written in elegiac meter.
3. a sad or mournful musical composition.
it is possible to learn something on the net. muey bien!
i thought it was ''eulogy'' but that's a speech in memory of the deceased
''elegy''=poem in memory of the deceased
(google dictionary)
thanks all, never came across it before.
I see the media didn't want to talk about this wonderful memorial and when they did they only wanted to focus on the comment by MJ's daughter Paris.
It was a beautiful memorial that should have been discussed the next day by all the pundits, but I see they all wanted to brush it aside and focus on all the controversies they are trying to create and hope will develop from his death.
What do an average white person (I don't mean KKK) think to having all the Greatest Achievers being blacks? The greatest golfer of all time is black, the greatest ententainer is black, Michael Jackson, the Greatest basketball player Michael Jordan, is black, the Greatet President/
Please be frank! Is there a hand of Gold/Goddesse in all this?
I think there are a lot of different areas of achievement. Personally, I don't care that much about entertainment or sports.... but there's also George Washington Carver, Ms. Angelou...
And Jonas Salk, Marie Curie, Lao Tzu, Hippocrates, Larry Bird, Black Elk, Andrea Bocelli...
All races have people of extraordinary talent and ability. The hand of the Creator touches all of us.
And Barack Obama is a blessing.
Very well said.
Wouldn`t call Obama the greatest by any means. He is popular. Big difference. Also there have been many greats of all races in many areas. You`re view is rather myopic.
given that two of those you listed are also half white it kind of negates your point. if you want people to be frank then you should also fankly acknowledge their full heritage instead of pretending their Caucasian ancestry doesn't exist.
But crayola08b, if a person has a drop of black blood then he is indeed black. Not the black man's rule by the way, so yes they are black.
what was that about?
Its funny. Nobody ever says that about other black Americans who aren't IMMEDIATELY bi-racial. "Well, they DO HAVE white ancestors, too, you know. They are also white." Never happens. I really dont understand that defense.
I wouldn't call Obama the greatest president, not yet. He has a lot prove I'll know for sure by 2012.
Eddiesengola I don't know what makes one an average white person but here goes. More than many of us admire those you've named. so far I agree with you about Barack Obama. He may not become the greatest president but as for me I have never known a finer person (never met him personally). What I most admire about him is how considerate he is of others.
I think that we can all look forward to the day that we appreciate each other, and I'm not talking about white and black, as individuals with the same enthusiasm as we appreciate stars and celebrities.
Beautifully expressed, I appreciate you!
..........
Very.
MJ was an amazing entertainer and a good human. I wish him peace in his new life in the here after.
And one of the Greatest Humanitarian in the World and contributed to talking about social issues in his music and bringing people of all races together and all the world to admire black achivement, and envie the USA while Reagean and the Republicans were dividing people in the USA.
So, none has ever achieved what MJ did and benefited to the world. His music was part of my childhood in Third world when I was a teen and kept my spirit going and happy although living in poverty.
We all assumed that he had "faults", which to be generous to his accusers, we all do. But in the end those whose assignment it was to evaluate the evidence said his accusers were false. My initial inclination was to take the side of the accusers, but after the evidence was presented I came away with the distinct feeling that we are assuming too much and also that this is a man who regressed to childhood, and looked at his personal life from that perspective. In any event the rumors are there but there is no evidence.
Thank you.
I always thought his accusers laid false accusations in an attempt to line their pockets with Michael Jackson's money.
Too many went along with the accusers without question. Now they cry for Michael Jackson.
Why assume that "faults" is a euphemism for sexual misconduct? I also think that lawsuit was a grab for money.
The issue I have with Michael Jackson is that he bought up other musicians' music and leased it out for advertising. One of the people who was offended at having his music used to sell junk was Paul McCartney. When he asked to buy his rights back -- BUY them, just as Jackson had done -- MJ said, "Sorry, man, it's just business." Okay, I was not present, but that's what McCartney said when an interviewer asked him why he didn't do another duet with Michael. McCartney is a creative artist who has put meaning in his work--"Revolution" was not just about selling shoes.
If that was how Jackson treated his friends, it sounds like his fans were better off at a slight distance. I don't argue that he did a lot of good humanitarian work. A lot of people are better at doing good things for people in general than in handling their personal relationships.
weatherwaxx ... Paul McCartney COULD have bought the music too .. it was HIS choice not to outbid Michael . Of course, he regrets it, but ... he HAD the money to do it, and chose not to.
I think MJ treated the Beatles catalog with great respect .... the airwaves are NOT full of Beatles music set to commercials ... anyone else might have sold them off to the highest bidder ....
Why should MJ have sold to Paul McCartney??? He got them fair and square, paid the price. Paul was too cheap to do it, then regretted it .. oh well! He should be grateful MJ got them, and not McDonalds.
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