I see people scowling and screaming
Raging and waging war on others,
Angry at each other or something else
But most of all angry at themselves.
They need to win a fight, any fight.
With whom, for what, it doesn’t matter,
It’s not about wrong or right,
It’s about the fight,
A way to take the anger out,
The anger that’s burning them inside,
The anger at nothing and everything.
I have been there myself at times,
And after you win the fight,
For a moment it feels like you can breathe again
It’s a good moment, you feel light
But in a little while, the anger returns
Deeper and spreading like a fire.
And the thing about fire,
You can’t throw it out the window
And on to the streets and get rid of it,
That only increases its reach.
To extinguish a fire one must remove
One of the three things that create it,
Heat, fuel, and air. The way I see it,
Pain is the match that creates the heat,
Our insecurities are fuel it feeds on
And our ego is the air that fans it.
I see people burning themselves,
And those they love, those around them,
Burning their houses and their cities,
While fighting fire with fire
And looking at the skies for a rain
Never realizing that the fire that starts within
Can only be extinguished from within.
by NIHARIKA JAISWAL
© All rights reserved 2017
unbolt me 
This is beautiful and very insightful. To feel such pain and anger, thinking it can be purged in this way. It saddens me to know so many are ‘addicted’ to this kind of behavior rather than going within to try to ease the pain. Thank you for sharing this poem.
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I think you’ve given a very accurate assessment of the poem. Thanks so much for visiting with us and reading it!
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Anger a natural facet of humans that is kept on the shaded side.
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Not a healthy place to stash it, that’s for sure. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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Well said!
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Hear hear!
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Great post! Why is everyone so angry??
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It’s a question I’ve never been able to adequately answer, Pam. Thanks so much for visiting with us!
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My pleasure. 🙃
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Really profound and such vivid imagery of the fire, burning us all up basically. You’re right taking away the pain takes away heat for the fire and we can’t live with so much fire within. Not the good kind like passion or love but the kind that destroys and is desolation. Like having Smaug the dragon from The Hobbit within ourselves and having to exorcise him to live in a content world, at least some of time. Awesome piece!
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It IS like having Smaug within ourselves. I really like your take on this! 😀
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Yes, thanks Tony 🙂
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Beautiful!
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We thought so too! 😉
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Reminds me of Billy Joel’s song: We didn’t start the fire. It was always burning since the world’s been turning.
The last line was a perfect climax. 10/10 would bang the poem.
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I remember that song! Wasn’t it highly reviled at the time of its release? I always liked it myself.
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Profound.
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It certainly is, Rae. Thank you for reading!
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Beautiful!
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Absolutely agreed!
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Absolutely loved this!
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We absolutely loved it too. Just had to share it!
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