Poetry & Analysis
Poems About Controlling Anger
Sad PoemsKeep Your Temper
It never did, and never will,
Put things in better fashion,
Though rough the road, and steep the hill,
To fly into a passion.
And never yet did fume or fret
Mend any broken bubble;
The direst evil, bravely met,
Is but a conquered trouble.
Our trials—did we only know—
Are often what we make them;
And mole-hills into mountains grow,
Just by the way we take them.
Who keeps his temper, calm and cool,
Will find his wits in season;
But rage is weak, a foaming fool,
With neither strength nor reason.
And if a thing be hard to bear
When nerve and brain are steady,
If fiery passions rave and tear,
It finds us maimed already.
Who yields to anger conquered lies—
A captive none can pity;
Who rules his spirit, greater is
Than he who takes a city.
A hero he, though drums are mute,
And no gay banners flaunted;
He treads his passions under foot,
And meets the world undaunted.
Oh, then, to bravely do our best,
Howe’er the winds are blowing;
And meekly leave to God the rest,
Is wisdom worth the knowing!
Overview Short Summary
The poem argues that rage does not repair problems and often makes them larger. True strength lies in remaining clear-minded and governing one’s own reactions.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Self-control: Ruling the spirit is presented as a greater victory than military conquest.
- Perspective: Reactions can turn small troubles into overwhelming ones.
- Courage: Calm endurance is treated as a form of heroism.
Forgive and Forget
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing, dear heart,
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing—
‘Tis saying to one that we love: “Forgive
The careless words and the sting;
Forgive and forget, and be friends once more,
For the world is an empty place
Without the light of your warm, true eyes,
And the smile of your tender face.”
O the kissing and making up again,
And the tender whispering!
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing, dear heart,
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing.
I’ll tell you the saddest thing, dear heart,
I’ll tell you the saddest thing:
‘Tis coming to one that we love full well,
Some tender message to bring.
And loitering, loitering, by the way—
Held back by a foolish pride—
Till it’s all too late to say “Forgive!”
When at length we reach her side.
For the ears are heavy and cannot hear,
And the chill lips cannot move
To whisper “Peace,” though our hearts may break
With longing, and pain, and love,
O this coming too late with our tenderness!
O the passionate tears that spring!
I’ll tell you the saddest thing, dear heart,
I’ll tell you the saddest thing!
Then let us make haste to be friends again,
Make haste to fold to our breast
The one we have hurt by word and deed,
Though we loved that one the best.
“Forgive and forget! Forgive and forget!”
O warm in the tear-wet eyes
Is the glow and the gleam of a golden light
From the shores of Paradise.
O the kissing and making up again,
And the tender whispering!
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing, dear heart,
I’ll tell you the sweetest thing.
Overview Short Summary
The poem contrasts the joy of reconciliation with the grief of apologizing too late. Pride and delay can make a temporary conflict permanent.
Significance Why Forgiveness Matters
Forgiveness is presented as urgent rather than sentimental. The poem asks readers to repair relationships while both people can still speak and listen.
Unconquered
However skilled and strong art thou, my foe,
However fierce is thy relentless hate,
Though firm thy hand, and strong thy aim, and straight
Thy poisoned arrow leaves the bended bow,
To pierce the target of my heart, ah! know
I am the master yet of my own fate.
Thou canst not rob me of my best estate,
Though fortune, fame and friends, yea love shall go.
Not to the dust shall my true self be hurled;
Nor shall I meet thy worst assaults dismayed.
When all things in the balance are well weighed,
There is but one great danger in the world—
Thou canst not force my soul to wish thee ill,
That is the only evil that can kill.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker faces an enemy’s hatred without surrendering control of her inner life. The greatest defeat would be allowing the enemy to create equal hatred within her.
Literary Idea Main Theme
The central theme is moral self-possession. External attacks can damage circumstances, but they cannot force the speaker to become hateful.
Sympathy
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats its wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!
Overview Short Summary
A caged bird sees the freedom and beauty outside, injures itself against the bars, and turns its suffering into a desperate song for release.
Interpretation Anger, Pain and Confinement
The bird’s repeated beating against the cage expresses frustration that cannot find a direct escape. Its song is not happiness but a plea formed from pain and restricted freedom.
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