Cross the river raging, I hurl a heart of anger at you—
take this, Lord!—which is the force of my disagreement with your will.

Catch it in a way that hurts your hand like my body hurts all over,
catch me if you’re man.

So long have I been stranded on my turbulent island
that I forgot the other side of peace was where I was headed.
How did I end up here mid-swim, I want to know.

The benefit of anger is how it forces you off the rocks of complacency
to propel you through those soul waters you’ve been avoiding.

Such is its force, an engine in you propelling you forward,
until the only option is to yield to the fight.

So take this roiling heart if you dare, receive me humbled and gasping
like a fish on your shore, where I will learn to love again
the one who never really left me there.

 

March 21, 2014 — Alexandra Hunter
Tags: poetry