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Eating and Drinking Poems: Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman”

By Scott Anderson 12 Comments

Our latest Eating and Drinking Poems post is from Scott Edward Anderson, who, as a man about to marry, honors his fiancée for her phenomenal mind, body, and sassy spirit by dishing out some well-seasoned comfort food and a poem. Appropriately enough, he turns to another beloved woman: Maya Angelou, and proves that while poetry may be the food of love, the object of adoration deserves a savory meal as well. 

Comfort food. It’s amazing how good it tastes and how good it makes you feel.

On New Year’s Day, my fiancée Samantha and I were alone, our six kids having gone to their respective other parents’ homes. It was cold and the holidays were wrapping up. We wanted some comfort food.

We love to cook. And because we love to cook, we enjoy shopping for our food together. Whether it’s the local farmer’s market on a Saturday morning, the grocery store or the corner bodega, we enjoy the prospect of discovery and trying new things.

So we ventured out to one of our local favorites and, because we were seeking comfort food, we headed for the meat department. (Sorry, vegan and vegetarian friends, but this omnivore has no dilemma.)

The butcher had an amazing array of meats. One advertised special caught our eye: “Spoon Roast.” What the heck was that? It sounded like comfort food to me. Turns out, Spoon Roast is not a new cut of beef, but rather beef sirloin, top sirloin roast or “sirloin beef bottom tips.” Apparently, with low and slow cooking, it comes out so tender you’re supposed to be able to scoop the meat with a spoon.

So we bought a cut for the two of us, and I found a few recipes online, which I modified a bit. I served it up with some shallot-mashed sweet potatoes and lacinato kale sautéed in coconut oil. It was delicious, and our apartment suddenly got very cozy, with a fire warming the cold night, especially coupled with a delightful bottle of Paumanok Merlot 2010.

I am never so comforted as when I dig into a plate of a good roast, a starch, and some greens. There seems to be a direct correlation between what we eat and the comfort it provides.

Here’s the recipe I modified,

Slow-Cooked Spoon Roast

Ingredients

3 lbs beef roast (spoon roast)
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves mashed & minced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
dash ground cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325°. Line a roasting pan with foil.

2. Put the roast in the pan and rub all over with the olive oil. Combine the garlic and remaining ingredients in a small bowl and rub all over and into the roast.

3. Roast for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 225°, and continue roasting for about 3 hours longer, or until done as desired. We like it medium rare for the most flavor.

4. Let the spoon roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

The spoon roast put me in mind of Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman.” I’m not sure whether it was the comfort of the food or that my fiancée and I have been having long discussions of late about looks, weight, and appearance as we prepare for our wedding in April.

“I’m not losing any weight, ” Samantha complains to me, after an hour-long workout at the gym.

“Muscle weighs more than fat, ” I reassure. “You’re building muscle and burning fat. It will even-out.”

I love her the way she is, but I sense her mounting frustration.

“Are you worried about the spoon roast?” I ask.

“No, ” she responded. “I’m worried I won’t lose any more weight.”

I smiled, knowing she would lose more weight and look great come our wedding.

In the end, however, she needs to be comfortable with herself and if that means she wants to lose weight, I’ll support her. If only I didn’t love to cook so much.

Maya Angelou also came to mind because she once said of her work that it “is meant to say, ‘You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated.’ In fact, the encountering may be the very experience which creates the vitality and the power to endure.”

Samantha is a phenomenal woman. And a phenomenal woman endures. She isn’t defeated. She gets her power from her uniqueness. She creates her own energy. She makes her beauty known by being herself. She’s comfortable with herself and knows what she wants.

Just then, Samantha wanted a nice piece of the spoon roast and a glass of wine. My phenomenal woman.

Here’s “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 of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

–Maya Angelou

 

Photo by Chase Elliott Clark, Creative Commons via Flickr. Post by Scott Edward Anderson, author of the recently published poetry collection Fallow Field.

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Scott Anderson
Latest posts by Scott Anderson (see all)
  • Eating and Drinking Poems: Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman” - January 30, 2014
  • Poetry at Work: Poetry and Business Life - December 4, 2013

Filed Under: Americana Poems, Blog, Eating and Drinking Poems, Maya Angelou, Poems, poetry, Recipes, Woman Poems

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Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    January 30, 2014 at 9:12 am

    Great choice of poem, Scott. It’s one of my favorites and to hear Angelou recite it is a treat.

    Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. May you and Samantha continue a wonderful life together.

    Reply
    • Scott Edward Anderson says

      January 30, 2014 at 11:18 am

      Thank you, Maureen, for your kind words and congratulations! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kathryn Neel says

    January 30, 2014 at 11:09 am

    Love the recipe. Really love the poem. Congratulations to you and Samantha on finding each other sounds like the perfect pairing, like spoon roast and a glass of wine.

    Reply
    • Scott Edward Anderson says

      January 30, 2014 at 11:20 am

      Thank you, Kathryn! Indeed, I have found my match. A little later in life than I would have wanted, but better late than never!

      Reply
  3. Sandra Heska King says

    January 30, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    Sounds to me like Samantha is going to marry a phenomenal man.

    Now I’m hungry.

    Reply
    • Scott Edward Anderson says

      January 30, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      Aww, thank you Sandra. I’m trying to be the best man I can be, with intention, integrity, and authenticity. Samantha helps me be that man everyday.

      Reply
      • Sandra Heska King says

        January 30, 2014 at 3:18 pm

        😀

        Reply
  4. SimplyDarlene says

    January 31, 2014 at 10:50 am

    Here I am, a country girl vegan, who descended from cattle ranchers, not caring about the eating of meat, but savoring the recognition of diverse beauty that you’ve shared here.

    Also, I’m wondering what the hey-diddle-diddle is a corner bodega — is this city thing?

    Congrats & Blessings.

    Reply
  5. Marcy Terwilliger says

    January 31, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    Scott Anderson you sound like a wonderful man in love. May you treat her like a Princess all the days of her life and in turn she will give you all her love. For those who marry late in life appreciate what they have found. Really enjoyed the way you told your story and your selection of beef and wine. I’ve not touched beef in over 30 years. We raised steers growing up on the farm and I’m just tried of meat period. To accept someone and love them for who they are is the greatest love ever. You don’t try to change who they are, the only one you change is yourself. I’ve been married 46 years to my High School Sweet Heart.

    Reply
  6. LINDA REID says

    February 25, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    One of my favorite poets is Maya Angelou and one of my favorite poems of hers
    is “Phenomenal Woman”.
    I recently watched a story of her life on PBS. She fully lived her life and
    experienced many different things in life and learned to write so well about
    what she experienced.

    I also love “And Still I Rise”.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poetry Memorization: Write it on the Heart, Says Julia Kasdorf - says:
    September 15, 2014 at 10:06 am

    […] all of Robert Service’s “The Highwayman.” Often a sassy chick will boast Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman” or Lucille Cliffton’s “Hips.” Usually someone drags out a Shel Silverstein favorite from […]

    Reply
  2. Re-Inventing the Ode | says:
    January 15, 2021 at 3:01 pm

    […] of the Duke of Wellington” eulogizes a great war hero. Or, to cite a more contemporary example, Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of the Morning, ” delivered in 1993 at the inauguration of President Bill […]

    Reply

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