personal attacks        unprovoked       have opened the doors to rage       uncontained

lies told   deceptions       unleashed     have  fed rage’s belly       stuffed,  it has sat

fat and sleepy   hogging  sofas    and time     it has put its dirty shoes up on the bamboo table

and has belched    up  a yellow, unsightly     bile         rage has gotten too comfy      it has 

picked its yellowing teeth     and has settled in        for the long haul

its been too long         an unquantified                stay

helplessness      initially guided rage to this neighborhood        drew it a map       pointed it in

the right direction  toward the senseless acts of others       death and its recurring heavy

residues of oils        slick      gave it a ride to     this door    but  it never

knocked      it just waltzed right in         when no one was looking      or paying attention     

uninvited    it  made itself        at home

when rage decided    it was hungry        it tore up every cabinet       tossed and slammed

 patience’s     plates  to the floor        looked for       and found        a giant pot      to simmer

its     bitter brew

losing  rhyme and reason    it spilled  burnt messy liquids  sloshing judgment          down the

sides of the      stovetop           and left me       to make            sense of such an uncharacteristic         

mess

it tore the cabinets     off their hinges      searching for only the finest        of ingredients

to add to its strange  stew      a dash of deception  cup after cup of lies and frustration     a

measure of greed        insensitivity        and ounce after ounce of  thoughtlessness    carelessness

and the all important liquids     too many dashes of  political salts to       harden     arteries of the

heart       it added the arrogance and ego      of others      a can of misfortune’s broth      it chopped

humanity into harsh        unidentifiable pieces           it forced open my mouth      poured itself

down my throat and, i       choking   took it in       took it down     where it rumbled and gurgled     

sickening my belly walls

and then         rage made its guest list for its untimely dinner party      

around the table, rage set placards for the unsuspecting     often, the undeserving     mostly, for

the ones unaware and so deeply entrenched in their own behaviors         that nothing could

nudge awake           their taste buds      for them, rage’s voice falls on deaf ears

cyclists, hogging the road, the trails       liars and theives      players of every sort         those

devoid of kindness  to other humans        mean-spirited humans        bigots     racists

republicans     those insensitive  to anyone     or anything     alive or dead in this universe

except for themselves    ate heartily     at rage’s table        laughed at rage’s stories      bounced

rage’s ire      off dining room walls    and chose     to carry on      in spite of rage’s ire

rage needs to move on down the road        now  i’ve cleaned up the messes     walked it to the

door         i’ve wearied of its shenanigans        its sudden intusion   the filth and mess     the

shambles it has left      me in

 i’ve tired of its shocks and surprises        today it must leave

rage  has tarnished  my reflection        the mirrors of me       crack each time     from the velocity

of its         arrival     rage takes me by surprise       takes too  many       years off       of  this

unpredictable      life’s span

go away        unintentional guest          leave now, rage       take your hunger    devour another

host        temper your guests                  and leave me

be