i'd never tell you i'm angry

i could never force out the words

i may hide inside my mind

but never would i bring

my worries to light

i am too afraid

as a child, anger was not allowed

never was it okay to speak my mind

or to throw a tantrum and cry

i should be happy, always agree

and so anger was no longer of me

except now

when i find myself fighting

to control my sharp tongue

and morphing my face into indifference

even as the tears flow

i fear that the worst anger

is not of screaming obscenities

or breaking a phone

or throwing a glass of lemonade

but that anger which has been swallowed

for years and years and years

building and bubbling inside

i pray it may never erupt