Rage is red,
a fiery haze
behind the eyes.
Suffused in red,
an angry face
blotches to purple.
When wrath solidifies,
slowing and hardening
far past passion,
it darkens further
into engulfing black
deep and deathly.
Old anger's white,
icy – chilling bone
and freezing blood.
Cold fury stills
the heart, sharpens
the vengeful brain.
Created for Friday Writings #12: Colour – or the Absence of Colour at Poets and Storytellers United.
Most of my anger stops and settles at red. But the stuff that makes the journey to white, yeah, those aren't put out easily.
ReplyDeleteAt least red is soon expressed and done with! Expressing it in a non-destructive way (to others or oneself) can be a challenge!
DeleteRosemary, this sooo clever, I could feel the emotions as I read your verse, and the words themselves.
ReplyDeleteMy dress except for in the cold this week is generally a golf shirt, shorts casual blue or blue jeans more dressy, and sandals sans socks. Two of my favorite shirts bright red with other colored stripes.
If my day involves working with another, possibly a sale of my point of view, I seldom wear the red as I feel it helps fuel an argument, possibly invoking wrath.
..
So, clearly you really give credence to the effects of colour!
DeleteLike how you say wrath solidifies and turns black... I think that's true.. sometimes though my red rage, unexpressed, turns into a thick grey sadness.. is that better than white anger, I don't know :(
ReplyDeleteMaybe that grey is the anger turned in upon oneself?
DeleteThat's possible.. frustration does take a while to resolve and settle.. interesting though...am going to see if doing a daily colour map will be useful!!!
DeleteThat's very creative of you!
DeleteOnce upon time, I was trained in art therapy, which largely involved colour (as well as shape etc.). After drawing how one felt in response to a certain problem, the next step was to draw a resolution to the problem. Somewhat along the lines of, you have to acknowledge and express what's there before you can move on from it.
Nice work, R. I know those red rages. Thanks for sharing,
ReplyDeleteAh, don't we all!
DeleteRed is also good fenshui and related to love, such a dichotomy. My mother's kitchen was red. Cold as white. Cold as ice.
ReplyDeleteYes, all colours can be interpreted in many ways. Red can be comforting warmth ... and so on.
DeleteAll those emotions coloured to verse. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteMuch love...
Glad you found it interesting!
DeleteOne of the most insightful poems about anger / rage and how they link to color I have read! I am slow to anger, think my anger is suffused with pink!
ReplyDeleteTo me, pink = love. A good colour to soften all our anger!
DeleteBeautifully drawn, Rosemary. The white anger really is striking.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad you said that! It was the hardest verse to write.
DeleteCold fury stills
ReplyDeletethe heart, sharpens
the vengeful brain
How very colourful Rosemary! Anger comes in all shapes and sizes let alone colours mixed up to cause more confusion! Wonderful write Ma'am!
Hank
Thank you, Sir!
DeleteThere is more anger about since covid. People are on edge.
ReplyDeleteVery true. And the divided opinions between vaxxers and antis makes it worse. Locally, my extended group of friends have agreed the subject is off limits. We know who thinks one way and who the other and we love each other anyway and allow each other the freedom to do as we choose. But there are many others for whom it is highly contentious – and everyone is motivated by what they believe to be the wellbeing of others as well as themselves.
DeleteI've always been intrigued by the colors we give to emotions from culture to culture, from belief to belief, from person to person... To me, red is the color of life, of blood flying healthily, of the passion and heat that comes with love and lust. Rage looks white in my brain, like a sun that has being pushed too far, of fire that has been forced fed energy and outrage until the flame blindingly white.
ReplyDeleteI see red as the colour of passion, too – and rage as one of the passions. But you are right about cultural differences. I remember how surprised I was on my first visit to Bali to discover that, there, white and not black is the colour of death and mourning.
DeleteI love your description of your own rage!
I like how you started off with the color of anger, morphing from purple into black. Never pretty. This angry world. Things were getting nasty even before covid hit.
ReplyDeleteI seriously believe there are too many of us! Over-population causes many problems.
DeleteI think your poem is accurate.
ReplyDeleteThat must mean you've experienced it the same way!
DeleteBeautiful image of anger.
ReplyDelete