“Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own backyard” This simile in stanza 5 refers to her wealth as obviously she would not have gold mines in her back yard but she has so much money it’s like she does. In America when they went through a stage of intense gold mining most of the people working were very discriminated against just like Maya Angelou was. The verb ‘laugh’ is very significant in this poem because it is a very hopeful verb and reminds us she is rising above all of the discrimination. The word ‘Diggin’ is associated with the African American culture which implies that she is proud to be an African American even though she is continually receiving hate.
“But still, like air, I’ll rise” This simile in stanza 6 is reminding us as the reader that Maya Angelou is unaffected and rising above all the hate and oppression that was thrown at her. That her hope and self-belief helped her to excel. The lightness of ‘air’ in the final line of the 6th stanza contrasts with the ferocity in the previous lines when words like ‘shoot,’ ‘kill,’ and ‘cut’ were used.
“Shoulders falling down like teardrops” This metaphor in stanza 4 refers back to the slavery in America. When black people were slaves if they saw a white person they would have to walk past them with a ‘bowed head and lowered eyes.’ By including history into the poem we are forced to reflect on all of the terrible things done to African Americans. She is also asking us as the reader if we expected to see her shoulders slumped over like her ancestors were forced to do.
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