When I Rise Up
When I rise up above the earth,
And look down on the things that fetter me,
I beat my wings upon the air,
Or tranquil lie,
Surge after surge of potent strength
Like incense comes to me
When I rise up above the earth
And look down upon the things that fetter me.
Credit
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on February 10, 2018, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“When I Rise Up” was published in Bronze: A Book of Verses (B.J. Brimmer Company, 1922).
Author
Georgia Douglas Johnson
Georgia Douglas Johnson was born in Atlanta on September 10, 1880, and was raised in Rome, Georgia, and Atlanta. Johnson attended Atlanta University Normal School and studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She initially aspired to become a composer.
Date Published
01/01/1922