Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Two new poems from this week...

A Sunday Sacrilege
April 26, 2015

In my heart resides a rage;
something dreadful to contain.
I stand upon a precipice
prepared to burst and explode.
There is a violence in my soul
that wants to master and control,
to wreak indignation on
someone I don’t even know—
on someone who, if I had passed
him in the street would stay unknown.
I am a man of peace who wages war;
who wants to embrace the foe,
drawing near to one afar
with fingers interlocked around his throat.
Who is this savage who stares at me
eyes rimmed-red from a darkened glass?
Whose mouth is this: a tight-lipped
line of crimson slashed across
such a terrible face? Lord
God have mercy on my soul.
Christ have mercy on my soul.
Lord have mercy—for I can’t.

Mourning Rain
April 27, 2015

Yesterday morning I found a full-
feathered mourning dove chick
and saved her from my cats. She spent
the day within my side-screened porch
protected from fang and claw.
That evening I returned her to
a high branch in a tree.
But in the night came a storm
and in the morning she was gone;
no stray feathers beneath the tree,
no Cheshire grins from my cats.
Perhaps she’s found in morning rain.


2 comments:

  1. Can completely to Sunday Sacrilege. As I am getting older I find myself feeling more like this. Never been so angry. A few days ago, I watched a pair of doves mating. Interesting ritual they have. Nice writing, Darryl.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words Wendy. I just posted a reply but for some reason it disappeared! If a similar message appears, you'll know why!

      The poems were meant to be posted together, although the reason may not be clear. While Mourning Rain actually happened, it is a metaphor.

      I think anger is a real problem we face. Most often anger is not constructive. It is designed to destroy (either another person, yourself, or it can be channeled to destroy the underlying problem in a positive way).

      What makes anger problematic is that it can be so addicting. It gives us a rush but in the end causes more problems than it solves. In the end it is a choice we make--perhaps not the initial flash, but certainly we choose to continue holding on to it.

      This is not to say it is never appropriate--especially when facing injustice. But most often it isn't injustice that drives my anger. For me it is an overwhelming sense of entitlement (I deserve to be treated this way! I have my rights!)

      And yes, the older I get, the easier it is to become angry.

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