I am angry nearly every day of my life but I’ve learned
Not to Show it, and I still hope to learn not to Feel it²
Anyone can become angry, that’s easy—
But to be angry with the right Person,
To the right Degree, at the right Time,
For the right Purpose, and in the right Way—
That is not easy.³
I am angry with my Friend:
I tell my wrath, my wrath does End—
I am angry with my Foe:
I tell it not, my wrath does Grow⁴
Anger, when fed, is dead:
‘Tis Starving makes it fat.⁵
If we look at the Content
Of others’ anger and not
The way they express it,
We Recognize it as our own.⁶
We rise to magnificent heights of
Insane Fury of effort, bred of Terror—⁷
Numberless, inexpressible frustrations combine
To make our rage Elemental and Awe-Inspiring!⁸
How with this Rage
Shall Beauty hold a plea?⁹
We Dance our anger on the wind …¹⁰
¹ Jack London, The Call of the Wild
² Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
³ Aristotle tr. unknown, The Nichomachean Ethics
⁴ William Blake, A Poison Tree
⁵ Emily Dickinson, Mine Enemy is Growing Old
⁶ Hugh Prather, Forward to Love is Letting Go of Fear
⁷ William Carlos Williams, The Use of Force
⁸ William Golding, Lord of the Flies
⁹ William Shakespeare, Sonnet LXV
¹⁰ Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore