Pure Frustration

It starts as a whisper,

A flicker beneath the skin

A tension coiled tighter

With every loss, each “almost” win.

I clench my fists on empty air,

Bite down on words I cannot say,

The world keeps spinning unaware

Of every wall I face each day.

Nothing fits,

nothing flows,

Every effort meets a block

A thousand doors,

all firmly closed,

A thousand hands that never knock.

I try to reason,

try to breathe,

To count to ten and let it go,

But anger tangles in my teeth,

A storm that churns and will not slow.

The smallest things ignite the blaze

A missed reply, a broken plan,

A hope that falters,

then decays,

A dream that slips right through my hand.

I pace the room,

I curse the sky,

My patience frays,

my voice grows thin,

I ask the universe just why

It always seems I cannot win.

The clock ticks loud,

the hours crawl,

My thoughts are restless,

sharp,

and wild,

I watch my careful towers fall

Like blocks abandoned by a child.

I want to scream,

to break, to run,

To let the fury loose and raw,

But all that’s left when day is done

Is silent rage and aching jaw.

Yet somewhere deep beneath the fire,

A softer voice begins to plead

To let go of the worn-out wire,

To give my battered spirit heed.

Frustration,

yes,

it burns and bites,

It tests the limits of my soul,

But in its heat,

a truth ignites:

I’m not defeated by control.

For every time I hit the wall,

For every

“no”

the world has hurled,

I learn to rise,

to stand, to call

Myself a fighter in this world.

I breathe again,

unclench my hands,

Let anger ebb and slowly fade,

I find the strength to understand

That even storms can clear and wane.

Frustration’s fire shapes my will,

It tempers hope,

it sharpens drive,

And though it sometimes breaks me still,

It’s proof I’m here, I’m fierce, alive.

So let me rage,

let me burn,

Let me feel each jagged scar

For every lesson that I learn

Will carry me a little farther.

And when the fury’s finally spent,

When peace returns,

a gentle guest,

I’ll know the struggle,

what it meant

To grow, to strive, to do my best.