Angelou gave permission to shine

[caption id="attachment_35755" align="alignright" width="250"] MAYA ANGELOU[/caption]

WHEN I named my daughter after Dr Maya Angelou it was because of the impact she has had on my life, although I never met her. Through her poetry, I was able to find my own voice and to share my voice through my poetry with the world.

It was her poetry which liberated me as a black woman, to say I have a place in this world, my thoughts and my ideas count. I am worth it.

Her passing reminded me of Marianne Williamson's quote: "We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

Angelou did that with me. She gave me permission to shine. Her light shines now through my three-year-old daughter, Maya.

I am not sure when I was introduced to Angelou's poetry. But I know that one of the people who continuously and consistently adored Angelou, and shared her with us was US talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

When I read Nomiky Sandiswa Tshangela's Facebook tribute to Angelou's passing, I was shocked. I was crushed. I was shattered. I was deeply saddened by her passing.

She was grace. She was magnificence. She was elegance. She was wisdom personified.

But more than that, her lessons on life, love and relationships found in her books were my guide through some of the confusing and painful years of my life. When nothing made sense, I read her poetry.

Her poem, Still I Rise, I would read when I felt crushed and overwhelmed by life, by the loss of loved ones, by motherhood and challenges of being human.

Rest in eternal peace, mama Maya Angelou. You are loved still beyond the grace,

Nosipho Kota, Port Elizabeth