Pilgr-image 16 - Anger

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment - Matthew 5:22

The Poison Tree - William Blake

I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

There are many times I photograph something for no reason other than “it looked interesting.”  This is one of those photographs.  I don’t remember where this was but simply that I saw these broken glasses while I was out one day.  No one else was around, they were just there.  Were they left by someone who broke them and just tossed the away?  Did they fall out of someone’s bag and they didn’t even know it?  But it was always a sorrowful image for me because it represented something broken and that the person whose glasses they were was going to be limited in what they would be able to see.

This poem by William Blake is a powerful reflection on what anger does within a person and how it can continue to metastasize into something worse and worse.  From simple anger at a foe to watering and nurturing it so it would further grow until it finally becomes that which poisons and kills that foe.  When I found this photograph in my library, I imagined that they were the glasses of the person who fell.  They took a bite of that poisoned apple and when they fell, their glasses fell off and broke.

How does this poem speak to you about the anger you have held towards another or that another has held towards you?

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Also, if you’re interested, here’s a deep-dive analysis of the poem…
A Poison Tree - Poem + Analysis