+ Her Barefoot Heart

ire

DSC03077

tonight i am angry.
deeply
fiercely
hugely
angry.
as close as i’ve ever come
to being
consumed
by anger.

and you know,
it feels
pretty damn
good.

so
i’m laying
it
on my altar
tonight
without avoidance
or
apology.
without giving
a rat’s ass
if it’s
ladylike
or not
to be
angry.
without
wasting one
nanosecond
wondering
if i’ll still
love myself
in the morning.

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28 Comments

  1. d smith kaich jones

    yes!  screw all that pretending not to be. ladylike be damned.

    • whollyjeanne

      well said, sugar. and hey, thanks for tossing on some more fuel. seriously.

  2. Liz

    anger is important, we are told much too often that it’s not okay, they are wrong.  I love you.

    • whollyjeanne

      thank you, sugar. usually i push it away. scold myself for getting angry in the first place. but today i’m finding something downright freeing about letting anger have its way with me. i love you, too.

  3. Square-Peg Karen

    Dear, dear Jeanne – I’m so glad to see someone as well loved as you being a guide/model for women about embracing, or at least accepting their anger.

    And the phrase “rat’s ass” always makes me laugh! You know, even if you wake up not so sure if you love yourself – there are plenty of us out here that’ll remind you that we love you and you are unbelievably love-able!! 

    • whollyjeanne

      i tucked this into my love letter folder, sugar. thank you so much for holding me, supporting me through this. xo

  4. Alana

    Good girls, nice girls, loveable girls don’t.get.angry. Heard it so often it’s taken me years to begin to unravel it. We need to feel it in order to get to what’s underneath it. Burn, baby, burn! (P.S. I love you too).

    • whollyjeanne

      being rather inexperienced when it comes to anger, and though i reigned it in prematurely, i have to say that i found it refreshing, exhilarating, and clarifying. like i was burning through to The Truth. xo, sugar.

  5. Karen Sharp

    Anger is strength.
    Anger is power.
    Anger is truth.
    Anger is knowing where we stand, and what we will not stand for.
    Anger is love.
    Anger is voice.
    Anger is connection.
    Anger is caring about what really matters, and not accepting bullshit excused for what does not.
    Anger is important,
              and necessary,
                        and ALIVE.

    Who benefits, shall we ask in strength, truth and power, who really benefits by keeping women’s anger silent and disempowered?

    Shall we ask again, what is it to really be ladylike, to be tapped into the strength, truth and power of the ladies, the women who stand in what we know and commit ourselves in fierceness and anger to it?

    Shall we ask again, drawing up all our strength, truth, and power, what does it really mean for us to love ourselves in the morning?

    • whollyjeanne

      sugar, your words bring tears of deep recognition. thank you. i’m tucking this in my love letters file.

  6. Meredith

    I see nothing inherently wrong with anger, and I see that you channeled it quite well — sewing beautiful words from an angry state.

    • whollyjeanne

      “sewing.” i did my fair share of that last night, too, finding something therapeutic and symbolic about stabbing that needle through the thread. up and down. back and forth.

  7. Mrswhich (Cheryl)

    Smell it. Taste it. You’ll know when the recipe calls for it.

    • whollyjeanne

      well said, my friend. good advice. good reinforcement. xo

  8. Mrsmediocrity

    well, you go, girl.

    • whollyjeanne

      thank you, sug. i hope you’re feeling better. not letting that cold get the best of you. xo

  9. Julie Daley

    you know how i feel about ire…and how i feel about you. put that beauty right on that altar and see what sacred fire rises… may you always feel every sweet ounce of your ire.

    • whollyjeanne

      love you tender, love you true. i seriously do.

  10. Anonymous

    Rock on, lady. There is nothing wrong with anger. Acknowledging it is brave and best; I have found otherwise it leaks out in the most disturbing and unexpected ways.

    As one of my exes once said very wisely: “Take that sh@t, turn it into fuel, and use it to fill up your tank.”

    • Anonymous

      PS — How did you feel in the morning? 🙂 Good, I hope!

      • whollyjeanne

        you are so precious! i felt cleansed somehow. and like i stopped too soon;) xoxo

        • Anonymous

          I am so glad you felt that way! Keep it coming! 🙂

    • whollyjeanne

      it does fill up your tank, doesn’t it?! sometimes, when i don’t have anything else to ponder, i wonder why girls were taught to avoid anger. my favorite theory is that They were afraid of the power angry women possess and display. finally, They got it right.

      • Anonymous

        It sure does fill it up! I have a feeling that over the course of history there were many women who got angry and used that anger to empower themselves and make the world a better place. And those were probably the same women, sadly, who were tried and sentenced and executed as witches.

        • whollyjeanne

          may we all draw on our inner witch more often, sugar.

          • Anonymous

            YES!!!!!!! 🙂

  11. Angela

    A little (or a lot) Kali. xo

    • whollyjeanne

      when you’re not accustomed to owning your anger, a little kali goes a long way.

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