Maya Angelou was a force to be reckoned with. As a world-renowned writer, poet, author and activist, when Angelou spoke, the world listened. So on Wednesday when she died, the world mourned.
During her 86 years of life, Angelou taught those around her find a voice no matter how hard the struggle. Amidst her message of perseverance however, she found moments to teach the world about something else -- something equally important: love.
Below are 16 quotes from Angelou about love.
1. "My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."
2. "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."
3. "I know for sure that loves saves me and that it is here to save us all."
4. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
5. "Love arrives and in its train come ecstasies old memories of pleasure ancient histories of pain. Yet if we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls."
6. "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."
7. "Love is like a virus. it can happen to anybody at any time."
8. "Lying, thinking/Last night/How to find my soul a home/Where water is not thirsty And bread loaf is not stone/I came up with one thing/And I don't believe I'm wrong/That nobody, But nobody/Can make it out here alone."
9. "If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."
10. "The love of the family, the love of one person can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society."
11. "Loving someone liberates the lover as well as the beloved. And that kind of love comes with age."
12. "I could fall in love with a sumo wrestler if he told stories and made me laugh."
13. "If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die."
14. "Eating is so intimate. It's very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you're inviting a person into your life."
15. "The loss of young first love is so painful that it borders on the ludicrous."
16. "I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates. It doesn't just hold—that's ego. Love liberates. It doesn't bind. Love says, 'I love you. I love you if you're in China. I love you if you're across town. I love you if you're in Harlem. I love you. I would like to be near you. I'd like to have your arms around me. I'd like to hear your voice in my ear. But that's not possible now, so I love you. Go.'"
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