When I have lost my temper I have lost my reason, too. I'm never proud of anything which angrily I do. When I have talked in anger and my cheeks were flaming red, I have always uttered something which I wish I hadn't said. In anger I have never done a kindly deed or wise, But many things for which I felt I should apologize. In looking back across my life, and all I've lost or made, I can't recall a single time when fury ever paid. So I struggle to be patient, for I've reached a wiser age; I do not want to do a thing or speak a word in rage. I have learned by sad experience that when my temper flies I never do a worthy thing, a decent deed or wise. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: MRS. MURRAY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TO THE PEACOCK OF FRANCE by MARIANNE MOORE TO A LADY WHO HAD OFFERED HIM A WREATH OF LAUREL by GEORGE SANTAYANA TO A SOLITARY DISCIPLE by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS |