Now why am I so mad again today
I’m picking fights with people in my mind?
And why do most my mornings start this way?
And will I never leave the wrath behind
or plumb it clearly till it disappears?
(For I don’t plan to manufacture fights,
but I was early taught to block my tears.)

I wonder: do forgotten dreams work nights
in some defensive region of my head
that utilizes anger as a shield,
and looses it to handle hurt instead
so weaker parts of me can stay concealed?

My oracle’s a child amplified,
who never had a voice until she cried.