Anger Management

All it takes is one change of tone. 

Even the slightest bit 

will set everything off. 

From the flick of a lighter, 

a fire lights up. 

It starts small. 

Your head begins to spin, 

And spin 

And spin. 

It feels as though you’re stuck 

on an ongoing carousel 

and you can’t stop till you let it all out. 

Your body analyzes every part. 

Hands shaking 

Pulse racing 

Your leg becomes restless 

as it continues to tremble.  

Your mind’s still spinning 

And spinning. 

Spinning with thoughts 

Never-ending thoughts 

and all they do is make things worse. 

The flame transforms into something more. 

You look closely and see a figure. 

It’s inhumane. 

It’s devilish-like. 

You try to put it out, 

but when you finally reach over to grab your bucket of water, 

it’s too late. 

The flame has taken over. 

You try to fight it but with every punch, you burn your hands. 

You look down and see the blistered skin. 

It hurts to clench your hand into a fist. 

It’s hard to resist 

when finally, you surrender. 

The flames consume your entire soul. 

You feel your skin burn to a crisp. 

The pain is indescribable. 

As you slowly become comfortable with the pain, 

your feel this excruciating burning 

 in your chest. 

What happens next is shocking. 

It’s something your body has never done. 

You take a deep breath and…scream. 

As you slowly relax your burning body, 

The flame begins to die out. 

You open your eyes and see that you’re okay. 

You realize your blisters are gone. 

You stand up and look in the mirror. 

There are mascara and dry tears down your face. 

You notice some friends running towards you for comfort. 

They hold you close without saying a word. 

It felt as though they didn’t need to speak. 

They understood exactly what was happening? 

“Did you lose control again?” 

You slowly bow your head down and nod. 

This my friends 

is what I call… anger.

• anger
• poetry
• thoughts