This is titled "Maya Angelou's Best Poem Ever", but my oldest daughter, editor/English major/urban legend expert that she is, has told me that it was actually written by a woman named Pamela Redmond Satran who is a novelist and magazine contributor. It turns out that the kid is right!
It doesn't matter to me WHO wrote it because the thoughts are still valid! Here it is:
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of control over her destiny...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself..
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOU LD KNOW... how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .
whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table... or a charming inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month..and a year...
THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSINGS KNOWING YOU HAS GIVEN TO MY LIFE.
SEND THIS TO 3 WOMEN.... You will have good luck for an entire day..
SEND THIS TO 6 WOMEN.... you will have good luck for all of the year or if nothing else... you know that you are truly loved and thought of by the friend, who sent this to you... and that she only wishes the best for you and your life...
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
