After Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise"

You may condemn my voice
With your red branded crosses,
You may force me into chains of false promises.
But still, like Angelicus, I fight.

Does my sacrilege offend you?
Why are you trembling with fear?
‘Cause I descend like I’ve seen devils
Lurking in the hearts of men.

Just like fire and like water,
With the susurration of the blood,
Just like thunder raging in the distance,
Still I fight.

Did you want to see me surrender?
Bowed down and answering ‘I obey’?
Memories fading away like mayflies,
Covered by my mournful sighs?

Does my silence compel you?
Don’t you close your eyes
‘Cause I transcend like I’ve got red roses
Growin’ inside my heart.

You may haunt me with your uncanny prophecies,
You may curse me with your bloody mouths,
You may torture me with your half-told lies,
But still, like iron, I fight.

Does my anger overwhelm you?
Does it come as a calling
That bleeds through the cracks
In the stone-tiled walls?

Away from the prisons of never-ending guilt
I fight.
Arise for a destiny that’s once covered in dirt
I fight.
I’m a void, silent and growing,
Waiting and yearning for the future that is to come.

Leaving behind those crying nights that tell me what “you should”
I fight
Embracing the days that show me what “I could”
I fight
Calling the soul of the forgotten child I know
I seek the Truth and the voice of freedom.
I fight
I fight
I fight.

 

Tom KE Chan is a student studying in AAEPC at the Community College of City University of Hong Kong. He was Chief Editor of the AAEPC literary magazine, Kaleidoscope, in 2016, and was chosen as the Sham Shui Po Outstanding Youth of 2017. Chan is looking forward to new possibilities in life as an aspiring writer. He has also taken part in various stage performances, including his first drama production, The Pandora's Box, which was adapted for the stage for the 66th Drama and Music Fiesta of St. Mark's School in 2015. He is currently working on a series of poems to bring together a story of human nature and love.