On the edge of anger

On the edge of anger

one stands with teeth wired

holding a scream while poised to bite

like vampires, those available throats

of victims for blood

to taste their pain

or chew them out

On the edge of anger

toxins bubble

through voice and stance

looking for victims

to poison their hearts

On the edge of anger

revenge strikes hard

with swift blows 

like rattlers, strollers

on a day-out

suspecting no dangers

having their moment of fun

On the edge of anger

anything could happen

standing on a cliff

leaning 'gainst a rock

unbalanced on the bluff

On the edge of anger

we grit our teeth

look beyond our feet

grabbing a gun

forgetting how to speak

to do something evil

to harm the errant one

teaching them a lesson

for being our irritant

*Reflections of Alan Jones:

  -"Surfaces can be seen, but depths must be interpreted." (quoting Ken Wilbur, the philosopher).

  -When trust becomes a matter of doubt in human relations, something incalculable is lost.  Think of our propensity for litigation and for throwing people in jail, for relying on legal controls to regulate personal life when only forgiveness and reconciliation will work.

  -Life falls apart when there are no shared stories embodying agreed-upon values.

  -These are among the many forces in the world that erode the conviction that each of us is responsible for our actions and therefore we are able to trust each other.  We are more helpless than ever before the power of the pressures of society and its special interest groups.  If I am to trust you and you are to trust me, both of us have to be reasonably confident that the other is responsible for his or her actions.  Without that moral compass we are lost.  A world of individuals who cannot trust one another is a form of hell.