Amanda Gorman Shared A Powerful Message On Meghan Markle’s Penultimate Podcast

Over the course of 10 episodes of Archetypes, Meghan Markle has spoken to a number of empowering and consequential women and shared many inspiring stories and moments. But the penultimate episode, released on Nov. 22, had an extra special surprise guest, poet Amanda Gorman, who shared a piece of writing to wrap up the moving episode.

Gorman followed a conversation between the Duchess of Sussex and Sex And The City author Candace Bushnell, and Pose star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez. Together, they discussed the vilification of women’s sexuality and slut-shaming they faced. In the second to last episode of Archetypes, titled “Human, Being”, Markle also went back to school, her former high school, Immaculate Heart in Los Angeles, to speak to three recent graduates about the labels they feel are put on women.

The power and impact of words has emerged as a strong theme of the podcast. Speaking about a piece of art gifted to her by a “dear friend” – a plaque-like item with the words “Human kind. Be both” written across it – Markle reflected on the other types of wordplay that resonate. “I specifically was thinking about something that I was told many years ago. You're not just a human being. You're a human, just being. Now, the woman who told me this was trying to remind me to just be easier on myself, sort of in the same vein of saying, 'Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.' Well, this is just another version of that same ilk of advice. You're human, just being."

Finishing off the episode, Markle handed over to celebrated poet Amanda Gorman, who shared a piece of writing spotlighting how women hold the power to bring about change and create a path, no matter the obstacles. “We will not fail, we will not sway, for where there’s will, there’s woman,” Gorman said in her captivating and steady voice.

Gorman, of course, made history in 2021 when she became the youngest poet to perform at U.S. President Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. She is also a long-standing friend of the Duchess of Sussex, having served as a key collaborator in Markle’s 40x40 mentorship programme, alongside Hillary Clinton, Adele, and Stella McCartney.

Read Amanda Gorman’s latest poem below:

There is a movement brewing.

We are the storm,

The very form of change.

The way forward isn’t a road we take,

But a road we make,

Forged forth,

By a future that is female.

We will not fail,

We will not sway,

For where there’s will, there’s woman.

And where there’s woman,

There is forever a way.