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Anger

by Glenn Currier

Is it a feeling
or does it masquerade
a leaky gondola
quaking on a lake of dread
and a sorrowful undertow,
my well crafted blinkers
avoiding the long spill
of errors and hurt?

How easily I trip
on my mind,
focus my errant attention
on his sarcastic remark
her cockeyed glance,
explode them
with a C-4 critique
mixed in the crucible
of my delusion.
I fail to hear his humor
see her concentration
on a sick child.

If I apply my eye
the microscope reveals
not a daisy
dazzling with white and yellow
but a chimera
breathing fire
on its imagined offender.

Its chief victim:
the emerald meadow
silken silver waters
and cool quiet breeze
of my inner peace.

07/02/2010

Author's Note: Dedicated to Geshe-la, Jampa, and Phunrab for the lessons they teach so well and I learn so slowly.

Posted on 07/03/2010
Copyright © 2024 Glenn Currier

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by George Hoerner on 07/03/10 at 01:34 PM

I think we all could learn a lot about ourselves if we tried to understand our anger. But it is harder than it sounds and most of our time spent justifying our feelings not in understanding them. Your note sounds as if you are learning about Buddhism. If so I have a lot of respect for the Buddhist form of thought.

Posted by Charlie Morgan on 07/03/10 at 05:23 PM

...in turn it all comes back to you--an eventuality, glenn, i love the penumbra of 'gimme that guilt' i share the load, your words are to every inner misery WE ever face--it is continuous...this is visceral. and george speaks to it. before it segues into anger/bile etc., it was BORNE of pain--not God-given, yet, life-given...yada yada...to write this i know you're not 'eating the barrel'...it's your poetic imagination onFire with this one...a grin occurs.

Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 07/03/10 at 06:27 PM

It certainly does us no good. Anger ventilated often hurries towards forgiveness, that's good; anger concealed often hardens into revenge. And that is when it becomes the master of us. Excellent and thanks.

Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 07/03/10 at 07:11 PM

Excellent stuff Glenn. An inspiration to those of us of all ages, and a good samge of style for us other poets to follow and enjoy.

Posted by Joan Serratelli on 07/03/10 at 09:25 PM

Anger is a genuine emotion. IF you can vent; do it. I do it through my writing. Great write; thank you.

Posted by Morgan D Hafele on 07/03/10 at 10:18 PM

quite the write! that last 2 stanzas really seem to sum it up... what an emotion, what a thing to let go.

Posted by Linda Fuller on 07/03/10 at 11:49 PM

This is a lovely poem. I know some people who could benefit from this (perhaps I'm one of them!).

Posted by A. Paige White on 07/04/10 at 12:26 AM

This is exquisite, Glenn. I reread it 4 times, the first time in order to sing a hymn to stanza1, oops, then i read stanza2
quietly I decide I owe S1 another read, while I think 2 through, then oops, I read S3 and immediately the war for the peace you yearn in these three puts away their bows and arrows and load their rifles, then oops, I read S4 and the nuclear blast blows me back to S1. You bombed me with your thoughts, dear sir. Surely I glow radioactively now. I consider how these carefully crafted paragraphs graph me. I don't know who "Geshe-la, Jampa, and Phunrab" are, but for me they are Father, Son, Holy Spirit. S4 is me leaning over this keyboard of yours, radioactive, wishing I too, learned easier and sooner. Absolutely exquisite and deserving of the POTD. Loved it.

Posted by Charles E Minshall on 07/04/10 at 06:16 PM

Good poem as always Glenn.....CharMin

Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 07/07/10 at 12:03 PM

Glenn, this is simply powerhouse stuff. I believe the reason the mind trips easily is because the mind trusts easily, similarly with the way children trust before that trust is breached, and if there is rage or over reaction resulting from such a trip, I believe it is because the mind has been shaken from this trust, trusting the less and guarding itself the more with each tripping, oft shielding itself behind armor which is anger, which is not natural gear for a mind to wear, which ten out of ten times would rather travel lighter and operate out in the open than be shielded. If only a mind in such a posture could reverse its course and learn to trust again. 't would be an incredible feat and something devoutly wished.

Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 07/11/10 at 02:33 PM

So true, and well put. I notice that people who succumb to anger on a regular basis can easily mistakenly presume others are angry also.

There's nothing like being given the benefit of the doubt, or a bit of grace. How can we learn how to give grace unless we've been given it first - and realize its value? Some authentic people sure have given me grace and benefit of the doubt when I sorely needed it.

I really like Philip's comment. Trust shattered is breeding grounds for pain.

Posted by Stephan Anstey on 07/16/10 at 03:00 PM

Elizabeth, as is usually the case, is spot on. Projection is a common faux pas, particularly with anger. Grace is a good thing, and this poetry certainly encourages it.

Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 07/17/10 at 04:18 AM

The image of the leaky gondola is vivid, "quaking on a lake of dread..." This is so relate-able and the loss in the last stanza, always there for us to enjoy, if we would assume or presume less. Thank you.

Posted by Jean Mollett on 08/04/10 at 02:58 AM

Hi Glenn, Great write. I do believe Elizabeth & Philip has some pretty good thoughts on this. Anger is a powerful emotion, just like others we each have. It's the power in learning to control ones emotions. With anger, learning to do something constructive to help with healing. Not doing something that ya would regret. Yes, it's not easy, it can be done. The main thing is not to keep it all inside & let it bulit up into an explosion. Letting it or things eat you up inside.

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