A Traveller Poem by Maya Angelou – An American Reflection

Every new year brings new beginnings, new lovers, new beginnings…but what about ‘Farewell to theirs,’ written by Maya Angelou? That might be an appropriate name for her final poem, Farewell to My Saints. It is one that Angelou wrote as a gift to her daughter, Leila. In it, the poet tackles family, love and Travelling. Although a wonderful gift, this one fails some of the readers.

It’s not that she writes below the belt either. She has a classy style and uses a fair amount of rhyme and rhythm to the piece. But then again, this is Maya Angelou we are talking about. And if we are looking for the most sophisticated poem, than this one doesn’t make the grade.

What really makes this poem stand out though, is its delivery. Angelou’s words are delivered with a heavy-duty emotion, but also with feeling. We can almost sense the pain and the love that went into making this collection. It touches on loss and grief, as well as universal themes such as hope and faith. It could be considered a coming of age work for an artist who has seen the end of her long life.

The writing style is one of the poems most like that of Maya Angelou’s other published works.

Her delivery of the lines, accompanied by her customary style of reading is that of a storyteller. And she is quite good at telling one, even when she is still delivering it. We can easily identify with her as a woman whose words are meant to touch the hearts of all who would hear them. And we would think, in a manner of speaking, that she has successfully done just that through this collection.

This poem opens with the lines ‘To leave you is to leave me’. It’s as if Angelou is sharing a sort of goodbye to us, and it touches us, as it touches us in a way no other poem would be able to do.

It would seem that the writer is telling us that her life has been full of wonders, and that she knows she won’t see all of them, but she wants us to know that she will. In her mind, that is enough. She wants us to see the best parts of her life, so that we would be inspired to do the same.

And then comes the second stanza, which is arguably the strongest for this collection. The words ‘And you have lived your life like a river/ Though you have but one desire: to know if there were, you a star/ One who walked the road that I have yet to walk’.

What we are looking for here is someone who has found meaning in her life, even though that meaning has changed. That someone is bound to have many different regrets about her life. And that’s exactly what we are looking for here, too. We would be looking for someone who was a traveller, looking back on the journey they had made, and on how that journey has shaped them.

If these poems had been written by anyone else, they would have been a lot different, a lot less personal.

They would have been more a part of the mainstream culture, with poems being shared in the classroom, or read at home during quiet nights. Maya Angelou’s poetry is certainly a unique and beautiful form of art. However, as a story, and part of the culture of New Orleans, some of her work has been misconstrued.

As an American, a poem by Maya Angelou cannot and should not be misconstrued. Her poetry can be enjoyed and shared. It can teach us about forgiveness. As a story, it can touch our hearts and minds. As a piece of literature, it would definitely be one of the best and most interesting books that we could own.