I hope you’ll forgive me for using someone else’s words this time.  I don’t typically do that but when I was debating the pros and cons of posting images from a recent boudoir session here, I found this poem by Maya Angelou and decided I would.   I feel honored when asked to help  any woman celebrate who they are. However they are.  Phenomenal women.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

BY MAYA ANGELOU

Bre… Perfectly comfortable with who she is!   That’s beautiful.  Phenomenally beautiful.  And she has one lucky sailor who will have a little something to remind him  just how lucky he is!

The tattoo on her foot says “More than all the stars in the sky.”