Maya Angelou’s “Touched by an Angel” features three versagraphs; the first consists of six lines rendering it a sestet, while the second is a septet and the final an octave. The philosophical piece grows by a line as it proceeds through its three divisions.
First Sestet Versagraph: “We, unaccustomed to courage”
The speaker strikes a philosophical pose as she attempts to dramatize the importance of love in a human life. Until the human being experiences love, which has the ability “to liberate us into life,” s/he remains without “courage” and behaves as “exiles from delight.” They curl up in the fetal position and hide themselves in “shells of loneliness.”
Then after love descends from “its high holy temple” and makes itself visible to “our sight,” the human being’s heart and mind are liberated from the shell and truly begin to live—a rather mundane thought, expressed rather blandly.
Second Septet Versagraph: “Love arrives”
As love enters the life of the individual, it brings with it “ecstasies / old memories of pleasure / ancient histories of pain.” Human love is not perfect; therefore, it will not always afford the lover perfect bliss. The lovers will have to accept the positives with the negatives.
However, if each human being can be “bold,” love will deliver him/her from “the chains of fear.” Love will lighten the burden placed on the soul by that binding fear.
Third Octave Versagraph: “We are weaned from our timidity”
The speaker then declares in her philosophical demeanor that “we are weaned from our timidity / In the flush of love’s light.” The sudden burst of light from love slowly allows the individual to behave less furtively than before his experiencing a loving relationship. The juxtaposition of speed and slowness is jarring.
The light of love encourages bravery, but also unveils a paradox: “suddenly we see / that love / costs all we are / and will ever be. / Yet it is only love / which sets us free.” The human must pay for love with his/her entire being; yet without love s/he will remain forever bound by those chains of fear.
Commentary
This poem, unlike many of Angelou’s fine pieces, does not quite work. The version circulating on the Web looks like draft instead of a final version. It needs some editing to correct punctuation and capitalization flaws.
In addition to the technical problems, the poem lacks the specificity that turns mere philosophical declarations into poems. The claims remain prose assertions broken into lines to look like poetry. The final attempted paradox lacks a resolution and thus simply remains a contradictory statement.
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