The Year Of The Tiger

I thought it might just be me

Running on caffeine and spite

But my dad says the whole world is angry

And it keeps us all awake

Like fireworks for the new year

The year of the tiger

I am not an angry person

But I wonder on occasion

If I am lying

Tension in my shoulder blades

Unspoken curses

Unthrown punches

Or maybe it’s the world

I drink the angst like tea

Stained daily by the tannins

A gauze pad on an open wound

Trying to staunch the flood

Until I can no longer separate

Their swelling madness from mine