Ralph La Rosa

Engaged by Rage

For M

Recalling details of that day,
she smiled to mask her pain: the mob’s
insistent rant revolted her —
and barking for a kill, like jackals
scenting blood, they raged an hour.
Although she truly meant to die,
she wavered on the window ledge,
and shaken by their ruthlessness,
the howling at her hesitance,
she backed away in shame. Her anger
at the time turned into hate,
but soon she came to terms with grief.
Rough love was all her world could give—
its rage revived her rage to live.

Shadow Bears

They crowd into my yard some nights,
cavort beneath the moon. But play
soon shifts to snarling, bloody fights.
When reconciled, they claw a way
inside the house and find my room.
It’s locked. Enraged, they bellow, score
the threshold of my lair — and loom
as pounding paws collapse the door.
Fighting to keep the beasts at bay,
I shrink from growling jaws that reek
of feral feasts, and softly pray,
fearing what these monsters seek.
At dawn, I struggle to all fours,
my burning eyes too weak to see—
but know there are no lockable doors
between the shadow bears and me.