#2: Alone by Maya Angelou (Critical)

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

~Maya Angelou


This is one of the many poems that I consider a favorite. I first heard this poem in elementary school but ran across it again my senior year of high school. I choose to recite it aloud for a spoken word project in my English class. I really enjoy reading works by African American poets and in my opinion Maya Angelou is definitely one of the best to ever do it. I like this poem because of the message it offers: no matter how much we hurt, disappoint, or ruin each other etc, we as people need each other in order to survive. Besides the obvious life lesson there are many other things I can learn from this poem. Ms. Angelou uses rhyme in a way that enhances the piece. She also employs very effective line breaks which makes the reader pause at all the right moments to absorb what’s being said. Another thing I think this poem does really well is use repetition in a way that isn’t annoying but rather drives home it’s central meaning. In my opinion those three things make this poem very appealing and if I can do any of these things in my own work I feel I can make it just as engaging.