The Opposite of Outrage
Free Verse
What is the opposite
of outrage —
unbridled joy?
Joy in the loss
of solitude
in a voice answering
in the dark, a touch
a patient silence
listening in civility
of meaning found
in the companionship
of community
My brother
My sister
What has become
of us! Is pain
the only fount
for our art —
the selfishness
of me, the fear
of them
Where is us?
Where the rapture
the awe divine
the fellowship of life
that entreats us
to bask in all things
the eyes of our soul
touches —
unjudgingly
The same things
that now
pass us by in
a blurry rush of
our shrinking periphery
as we drown alone
in bleeding angst
from a tempered glow
Even as you scream
into my face, spitting
with rage
I cannot unsee your soul
(the child that you were)
through your eyes
as mine, mirrored
crying with the pain
of disharmony,
yearning for the peace
of idle days
A choice must be made
O surely, we have a choice!
© Unni Nambiar (Aug 13, 2024)
