On Anger

“On Anger” is a free verse poem: It does not employ a regular rhyme scheme. The line lengths are somewhat similar; the poet uses, but does not consistently adhere to, 10-syllable lines. Lines that are around the 10-syllable mark tend to take up about half a standard-sized book page, balancing a somewhat consistent amount of white space on the right-hand side of the page. Hezekiah’s lines leave only a slightly ragged right-hand edge, and the phrase “I burn” sticks out further than all the other lines. This emphasizes the content of the phrase more than other end words of lines, and visually places “burn[ing]” out in the fragile whiteness of the page.

The enjambment—breaking of sentences across more than one line—of Hezekiah’s poem needs visual tracking to reveal multiplicities of meanings. Reading, and especially rereading, allows the reader to see how two sentence fragments on the same line can form a new sentence, or new sentences.

For instance, the words of Line 15 can be read as: without it, wherever you go. The pronoun “it” refers to anger throughout the poem, and this new sentence opens up a nuance where the therapist suggests the speaker remain without anger “wherever” she goes.