Momma Welfare RollMaya Angelou

Her arms semaphore fat triangles,Pudgy hands bunched on layered hipsWhere bones idle under years of fatbackAnd lima beans.

Her jowls shiver in accusationOf crimes clichéd by repetition.

Her children, strangersTo childhood's toys,Play best the games ofdarkened doorways,rooftop tag, and know theslick feel of other people’s property

Too fat to whore,Too mad to work,Searches her dreamsfor the lucky sign andwalks bare-handedinto a den of bureaucratsfor her portion.

“They don’t give me welfare. I take it.”

Visual Poetry• This poem really speaks

through visualization

• You get to know thiswoman through her body

• She is black,southern and obese

• Her body is the symbol or semaphore of racial injustice

Emotional Poetry• This woman is no stranger to

need and suffering

• The description of her kidsreally hits home to me

• The kids are poor and have no toys and play in the streets

• The phrase of the “slick feel” reminds me of stolen goods

Bitter Resentment• The woman represents the

resentment of the poor and underprivileged

• She is “too mad” to work, upset at society for throwing her under the bus

• There is no way to succeed for her except through luck

Getting Even• This poem describes the

attitude of many on welfare

• The last line describes the attitude of non-charity

• She “takes” from them what they owe her from repeated crimes against humanity

• She doesn’t take handouts

What’s The Message?• She is a signal to the power

that be that the system is broken and does not work

• She is a victim who victimizes the program

• What is needed is not welfare, but deep social reconciliation