Angry Men

The world is full of them:

Angry men.

It starts when you’re a little girl.

You learn to quiet yourself,

To make yourself smaller.

You learn your opinions and feelings will never hold weight over theirs.

You think it’s just your father

Until your world expands.

Then it’s friends, teachers, co-workers, boyfriends, and husbands.

There’s no escaping until the only place to escape is in your mind.

You visualize what it would be like

To never feel the tension,

To never have to figure out someone else’s emotions,

To live freely.

You never escaped.

Now you have a daughter.

Her father’s angry.

You start to feel anger yourself,

For not choosing better,

For not having the courage to walk away,

For realizing your own flesh and blood will now feel every bit of an angry man.

But there’s no escaping.

They’re everywhere.

She will be stronger.

Better than me.

I see it already:

The fire.

The courage.

And every time she finds that match,

I’ll light it for her.

It’s the least I can do

For giving her an angry father.