"I asked if she had any hard feelings about life. "No, I don't. There are many things I wish were better for a number of people for all of us really. We could have such a great time, sharing, laughing, growing, teaching, learning, dying. Coretta King said the greatest violence is seeing a child go to bed hungry. These are the great violences: assaults on the body and soul. Hunger, poverty, fear, dirt, and guilt and I will not have it. That is what my life is about highlighting these things and, hopefully, encouraging others to help make things better. But bitterness about life, no. Life is like electricity; it's just there. You can plug into that electricity and light up a synagogue, or a church, or keep a heart machine going; or you can electrocute a man. Life is the same way. It says, 'Okay, I'm going to be in your unit for a bit. Want to use me? Want to walk around drugged or sick? All right. It's your business. No value judgments! I'm here for you to use.' Life! When it's through with me, I hope to be through with it. I'll tip my hat, and split." (1974)"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Essayists from the United StatesShort story writers from the United States20th-century poets from the United StatesPlaywrights from the United StatesProducers from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou (4 April, 1928 – 28 May, 2014), born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was an American poet, author, memoirist, actress, director, producer, writer, singer, dancer, and civil rights activist.
83 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Maya Angelou →
Related Quotes
"I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me "I love you." … There is an African saying which is: "Be c…"
"Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable."
"A bizarre sensation pervades a relationship of pretense. No truth seems true. A simple morning's greeting and respons…"
"Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or …"
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can …"
"There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing."
"I am capable of what every other human is capable of. This is one of the great lessons of war and life."
"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within"
"My life has been long, and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trem…"
"We delight in the beauty of butterfly, rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty*"