Dilemma Poem by Allie Jo Sholder

You're such an angry person,
he said, and it was true,
though I denied it.
Anger was my shield, my suit of armor.
When I was mad I didn't feel the pain,
or not as much.
It warmed me in the cold
of I'm not good enough and no one wants me.
Since I was born I've wrapped the warm red coat
of anger round me.

I want to put it off now, lay it down.
I want to live by love, be gentle-hearted.
But gentle hearts are open to the pain
I don't know how to bear.