Poem: Made to Rage by Me

Made to Rage by Me

The night settled slowly

And I tossed and turned

Because you were not there.

Anger invaded my sleep and

I tossed and turned thinking

Of cruel things you had said 

To me.

    Gradually anger subsided

To drowsy dreams of lakes and waters

That always come to me in turmoil

And make me calm. Those waters

That always come to me in turmoil

And make me calm. Those waters

Drowned me in their care

And I slumbered until you came

To bed. Then again, I lay awake

Thinking you had been drinking,

Being still, perhaps angry with me.

But waters came quickly flooding in

And, again, I drifted off to sleep

While light snow gently fell outside.

When morning came I was awakened

By a phone call confirming an appointment

When I’d finished with the call

You told me you had been up 

Texting your dear friend

Who had lost her father

Sometime around midnight.

These little things come crashing in

Like violent storms within my mind, 

Yet typically they are made to rage

Not by reality, but by me.

January 2024

About This Poem

This is a poem about being angry at my wife for no reason, except my preconceived notions of what she is thinking which are too often wrong. But, as any married person knows, sometimes we do know what our spouse is thinking. And sometimes that makes us mad. But sometimes we are just wrong. After being married for several years you can learn a little bit about not only your spouse, but also yourself. That's what this poem is about, what I have learned about myself. And, of course, thinking about large bodies of water is my self soother which is why that's in this poem. The picture is the lake where Cooperstown, New York is.