Buy dishes at a thrift show
and break them in a safe place.
Or put them in a paper bag
and hit with a hammer.
Draw a face of someone you’re mad at
and jump on the paper,
or tear it up. Scream.
Scream in the shower.
Scream into a pillow.
Stuff a pillowcase with grass,
draw a face on it,
and hit it. Chew gum —
imagine you are biting the person.
Do an angry dance to music.
Growl into a mirror. Make faces.
Throw a wet washcloth against the wall
in the bathtub. Squeeze a towel.
Punch a pillow. Hit a mattress
with a tennis racket. Pound clay.
Tear magazines. Tape
the bottom of your shoe
with the name of person
you are mad at and walk around.
Sometimes the body feels very tired.
Write all the bad words you can think of.
From a list of Things To Do to Express Anger Safely from the Violet Solomon Oaklander Foundation. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.
Verbatim Poetry 