Is she the dark lady that last night claimed
she knew the provenance of broken dreams?
Is she the same woman who last night aimed
her demons in my direction? It seems
she holds a deep quarry of dredged-up digs;
a deep pit of misery; a pack of black cards
that she plays to her advantage; reneges
at will… cheats … and then with honour guards
her dignity; a thin veil of powder;
a dusting, a coating, sheer nonsense;
more transparent as the voice gets louder:
more desperate, more dismal, more dark and dense.
. Who is this lady that delights in black?
. What shady memories does she welcome back?

Tim Grace, 23 December 2011

To the reader: Temper fuelled rage is an ugly and primitive demeanour that rises from the brain’s deeper recesses. For most of us we learn to control that ‘cantankerous monster’ as we outgrow the deployment of two-year old tantrums. For some, that taming was not so complete; producing an unpredictable and cranky adult temperament. In the grown-up world, there’s a social contract that demands a rational mind. Keeping an ‘even keel’ through stormy weather is not easy. Managing frustration and torment without resorting to anger is a prized habit of mind; well worth the effort in the preservation of long-lasting relationships.

To the poet: The angry tirade, often delivered in a single passage of free-flowing vitriol, is intended to over-ride the calm response. Throughout an angry exchange the tarry is designed to be quick and the verbal blows are short and sharp. The aggressor in an angry exchange will escalate the intensity… their ploy is to attack not defend. Any attempt to de-escalate will meet with hostility. This sonnet is bookmarked by two sets of questions… the answer lies within.

dark lady?

Picture Source: http://youtu.be/0sqMBOjrUeg