It is rare that a single work of poetry finds its way onto the library bookshelf as its own book. “A Brave and Startling
Truth” is one such poem. Written by Maya Angelou, Truth was read by her in San Fanscisco on the event of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.In style, the poem is more formal than some of Angelou’s work. It has an introduction of a single stanza followed by six topical stanzas of varying length and construction and a single, brief closing stanza.For content, the author states that we must reach an inevitable truth. The following stanzas compare the unpleasant truths of the human condition and the beauty of the natural world, but in the final analysis determines that humans are the great miracle of the world.It is in the tradition of Angelou to call out dark and
compelling images from her subject matter. Her imagery of planet Earth, from the view from space to the nature of her rivers is quite compelling. Then only a few lines later she shocks with the literalness of her depiction human cruelty and war. We are left with a clear image of a terrible
struggle being waged on the tiniest mote. She points out however that it is not a hopeless struggle, that we are all struggling together on a world of surpassing beauty.It is interesting to note, that while writing to represent the United Nations. She manages to write quite blamelessly. There are no good guys or bad guys. She speaks vaguely about turmoil in the temples but that is not the point. It’s only us, moving forward towards a better tomorrow as our tiny spaceship sails silently through the stars. We, she concludes are the most wonderful thing on Earth.