A Brave And Startling Truth by Maya Angelou Summary

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.

Maya Angelou’s poem “A Brave And Startling Truth” is about people living on a small planet in space. The poem talks about the journey through space, passing by stars and suns, until reaching a place where everyone must learn an important truth.

The poet imagines a time when people come together for peacemaking. This is a day when they let go of anger and hatred, allowing a sense of calm and purity to prevail. The poem envisions the end of hate, scrubbing away scorn from faces, and no more battles that leave sons and daughters lying in foreign soil.

Angelou paints a picture of a world without violence and conflict. The poem expresses a longing for the day when churches and temples are no longer stormed, and when flags of truce are used to dress children’s dolls instead of rifles. The removal of land mines and the ability for the elderly to walk into peaceful evenings are symbols of a harmonious existence.

The poet mentions various wonders of the world, like the Pyramids, Gardens of Babylon, Grand Canyon, and others, but emphasizes that true wonders lie in humanity’s potential to overcome challenges and create a world free from hatred. The poem acknowledges the contradictory nature of people, who can both harm and heal, but ultimately highlights the possibility for positive change.

Angelou encourages the idea that people, despite their flaws, have the power to shape a world where everyone can live freely without fear or prejudice. The poem calls for a confession that humanity is capable of being extraordinary and miraculous. It suggests that only when people truly understand and embrace their potential for good can they create a better world.