anger management

everywhere i go i see angry people
lips pursed and stiff with indignation
faces red and closed and pontificating

their way towards purple

and some days it makes me laugh and
other days it makes me frightened so
i stay holed-up in my hermit house

digging in a few feet deeper

watching butterflies and dragons
slay petunias and wayward periwinkle and
cedar waxwings choosing only the ripest

berries from a tangled mass of elders

as i pretend not to notice for fear
of scaring them off with a ruby-lipped
smile and a heart burst open

seeds of joy spilling out

floating

away

like tufts of dandelion

and no one questions if it’s fair or just
or whether the gypsy moth has more right
to be alive than the hard-scabbed ugly

beetle

.

.

.

Linking up with the fabulous dVerse poets for Open Link Night, join us!

43 Responses to “anger management”

  • Becky Sain Says:

    Love.
    Needed to read this this morning before I started my day.

  • honey Says:

    i’m not sure about my feelings for the beetle, but i am certain i loved this post!

  • laurie kolp Says:

    It is sad we are too scared to give a smile to these people b/c we don’t know what they’ll do. This is powerful, beautifully written!

  • Debi Says:

    a blessing on your hermit house.

  • Cathy Says:

    at times i feel like you are inside of my head! i loved this.

  • Anna Montgomery Says:

    You sure know how to pull me into your world, so well I begin to think maybe it’s my own. Certainly I love visiting and feel immensely grateful for its existence. Wonderfully written, as always!

  • Buddah Moskowitz (@ihatepoetry) Says:

    This was a home run – in baseball parlance. In other words, this was Art. Loved it.

  • ayala Says:

    A wonderful write!

  • Jannie Funster Says:

    I think you’re totally on the right track, K. Stay in your garden watching life unfold, and let the angry ones do what they’re going to go about doing anyway.

    xoxo

  • Mary Says:

    Oh yes, I just got home. The road is filled with angry people using a car as their means of aggression. Sometimes it IS good to put all that behind you and just enjoy the nature in your environment.

    P.S. I will vote for the gypsy moth. LOL.

  • Claudia Says:

    and no one questions if it’s fair or just
    or whether the gypsy moth has more right
    to be alive than the hard-scabbed ugly

    beetle… i like all the questions you ask here without literally asking them..

  • Joe Hesch Says:

    Loved this, Kelly! “…faces red and closed and pontificating their way towards purple” is just a great line!

    So much great discovery here! xo ~ j

  • yelena Says:

    i know this feeling so well..thanks for sharing this piece, seems it’s just what i needed now~ p.s. and the cute cat George’s photo makes me smile as well :))

  • Audrey Howitt Says:

    Beautiful, beautiful write!

  • Heaven Says:

    My fav lines are:

    watching butterflies and dragons
    slay petunias and wayward periwinkle and
    cedar waxwings choosing only the ripest

    berries from a tangled mass of elders

    Lovely work ~

  • John Richter Says:

    Such thoughtful poetry, with an absolute smooth flow through out. Who can say our wolrd has not become filled with desensitized haters, and who can we open our hearts to without being dissapoiinted or laughed upon? It’s something I ponder often, Mrs. Mediocrity, sadness seems to own our days. But yet it gives those special of us reason to strive above the common fray, the hurtful way that comes so easily to so many…. Mary’s thought was my very first one, road rage. But every cause and every corner has become tainted with the “I am better and smarter and more capable of you of making wise decisions” attitude that is so prevalent today. We have become us and them, without warning…..

    This is the jewel I found:

    “as i pretend not to notice for fear
    of scaring them off with a ruby-lipped
    smile and a heart burst open

    seeds of joy spilling out

    floating

    away

    like tufts of dandelion”

    Extremely thoughtful……

  • The Linnet Says:

    Ooooooh just ADORE this one!

    So many angry people, so much offence to be taken, so many things to be annoyed at… so many beautiful things that get missed. Thanks again for making me leave your blog with a huge grin 🙂

  • Beth Winter Says:

    I think I need to huddle in with you! Wonderful imagery and such a pleasant place to be.

  • Vernon Wildy, Jr Says:

    I really like the transition from the day-to-day dealings with people to falling softly into nature. Feels like the lessons of dealing with the outside world can be found at your hermit house. Well done.

  • brian miller Says:

    so much we could learn from nature…there is much more peace there….they have not evolved into entitlement or maybe they are beyond it…..there are many angry people out there right now and will be only more so as the year ends i imagine…

  • poemblaze Says:

    Wonderful poem. I hide away too sometimes. “pontificating~ their way toward purple” is a brilliant line break. The cascade poem about seeds of joy is also wonderful. The whole thing works beautifully.

  • Martyn Kerr Says:

    I love how you challenge the perception of power and how someone assume authority over another through anger. Loved reading this.

  • Vanessa Matthews Says:

    Hmmm, plenty to ponder in this fantastic weave, so nicely done,

  • Karen Maeby Says:

    Nicely done – angry people – here in Florida it’s HONK! HONK! HONK! Like one has something more important to do than the other – rush rush – they take no time out of the day to think about the beetle or moth.

  • skyraftwanderer Says:

    Awesome poem is awesome.

    Like really awesome.

  • hedgewitch Says:

    Just when I think I’ve read your best, you pop out one that proves me wrong–this is extremely well-structured in an unobtrusive, supportive way, so that the words seem to ripple and flow from image to image like pouring water. I have had your thought at the end many times about nature and why it’s so comforting even at its cruelest, but never quite articulated it like this–really enjoyed and learned here.

  • Pat Byers (Tilda) Says:

    ….faces red and closed and pontificating their way towards purple…
    ok, Mrs, M. a new word for me to look up in the dictionary, although the suggestion of it pretty much tells the story. YOU never fail to amaze me.
    But then you already had me with the title.
    Very very good work!
    in fondest, tilda

  • jane hewey Says:

    touching on human nature through nature herself. i love this.

  • zongrik Says:

    the most interesting thing to me here is the reaction to anger, some days amused and some days terrified by it.

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  • Chris Lawrence Says:

    Beautiful and touching besides threads of darkness light shimmers

  • Kim or Lisa Says:

    I like the light, fairy like feel of this poem, especially as it is about such a heavy emotion.

  • Mark WIndham Says:

    That would indeed be the better scene..I could very easily become the hermit, only allow my family in, no need to see any others.

  • Steve King Says:

    I love the idea behind this, which for me was the last stanza–also how you use the form to advance the content: single lines for punctuation, and the “seeds of joy…” part floating away. No need to comment back…I’m vacationing this week and didn’t have anything to post.

  • emily Says:

    Love this one! But now I kinda feel bad about killing that earwig this morning…

  • emmett wheatfall Says:

    What I love most about your poem is the way it is structured. It is brilliant conceptually. It help moderate the rhythm and flow of the poem. The fact that you using spacing is excellent. A very nice poem.

  • Manicddaily Says:

    This is a very fun poem = and I like the metaphorical meaning of gypsy moth – but I have to say that they are incredibly destructive in the North East where they ate up huge swathes of forest several years back. They don’t seem to be as bad now. So other than that – I think it’s a lovely poem. (Not to be a spoil sport – we had this really terrible experience with gypsy moths!). I love the transition from external to internal and the selection process of Cedar Waxwing esp. k.

  • stu mcp (hate&hope) Says:

    Very very well put. Angry people…made me think about what an ‘angry’ person is….and why. Angry for legitimate reaons or about things that are fairly meaningless in the big scheme of things. But then the images of flowers- I think anger can become as beautiful as a flower when channeled in the right way….sometimes anger can be frightening …sometimes i frighten myself with it….sometimes it can be used….but do both have a place in the world … I think one does

  • Eric 'Bubba' Alder Says:

    Loved the ‘tufts of dandelion’ part best… wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could just let go of their anger like that?

  • wander Says:

    The transition from one aspect of this poem to the other was a bit jarring, almost like two different people wrote them…good poem

  • Kate Says:

    I think you need to publish a collection of your poetry. In fact, I’m certain of it.

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