Anger Management

Photo by Ken Russell. 1954
Photo by Ken Russell. 1954

There is a subtle anger

Underneath the crust

That carries a tilted scale.


Even among those who smile

Offering friendliness.

A false melodic whistle….who,

Not by the challenge of wise years,

Takes the path of simplification…to

Create a dry cause and effect

Binary reasoning, a molded anger

Standing beside the smooth

Concrete arm of punishment

As long as she has a sword in her hand.

The subtle anger

Always appears where…it

Is the most comfortable

Well-fed, housed, and entertained

Reclining on a soft couch

Sleeping in

Creating an outer crust

Buffering the creamy inner anger.

For those outside the crust

The wind always sways the scale

In unpredictable directions

Every now and then

A storm blows through


31 Comments on “Anger Management

  1. Oversensitive, brilliant; difficult, even better; sublime, reward; life, love; challenging positions, growth; naivety, blessing. I usually have a take….. sorry about that 🙂


  2. Your description of smoldering anger matches the unpredictable weather of Mother Nature…both uncontrollable.


  3. Wonderful writing! This phrase :

    Standing beside the smooth
    Concrete arm of punishment
    As long as she has a sword in her hand.



  4. I enjoyed your description of your anger, so different from my own. I feel it’s like lava, traveling under the surface, sluggish, slow and powerful. The force of it eats away below ground, insinuating itself everywhere. And then it bursts through. . .

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Very beautiful extemporization of anger. As a food blogger, I also like the food characterization you use. You have a very lyrical way with words. Thank you for this post.


  6. That’s flattering Joan and thanks. I guess it’s a combination of being a tad bit oversensitive and having experienced life from a myriad of perspectives. Sometimes, those experiences were very difficult. Other times, they were sublime. I think we call it life. But, sometimes I went out of my way to place myself in challenging positions. Most likely out of youthful naivety. But really, I’m just trying to do what TS Eliot prescribed in his “tradition and the individual talent”, finding new ways to express/word experiences we all are aware of.

    Liked by 2 people

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