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.
Maya Angelou is writing a poem to her "haters". She is describing her experience as a strong black woman. No matter what is thrown her way she will continue to be strong and overcome. The first stanza is describing what most hope she will experience, discouragement, loss of self esteem, and emptiness. She lifts the tone of the poem in the next stanza by stating that she has no care in the world as depicted by the rich.
Angelou uses an A,B,C,B rhyme scheme. It is pleasant sounding and gives the poem a lighter, more playful tone. Her similes are exquisite. "Shoulder falling like teardrops" perfectly depicts to the reader how low the haters want her spirit to be.
When listening to the recording of Maya Angelou reading her own poetry her tone is soft and light. Though she naturally speaks that way, it was more daunting, almost like a laugh in the face of the haters.
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