‘Still I Rise’, Maya Angelou

A windfall apple is an apple that has fallen from a tree. When we gather windfalls, we help ourselves to apples that happen to have fallen.

In this exercise, we help ourselves to words that have arrived by chance, and use these to inspire our own creative endeavours.

How to use our ‘windfall words’ exercise

Here is an extract from the poem, ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou (1978):

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.
Still I Rise, Maya Angelou

Angelou’s poem is about resilience. It is often read as an empowering piece of writing.

We’ll use this poem to generate our collection of windfall words. Can you write a short poem or passage about your own ability to be resilient, and how far you have come. Use as many of these words as possible.

Your windfall words are…
Write – Rise – High – Sassiness – Pumping – Moons – Suns – Hopes

Resilience is a fantastic human trait that we do not often pause to consider for ourselves, about ourselves. Take some time to reflect on how empowering it may feel to write about how resilient you have been.