The art of conflict

I never taught you the art of conflict

I only recently learnt it myself

How to stand your ground

Be firm

How to ask for what you want

And receive it

It shouldn’t be hard but we can make it

How to sit with hard feelings

Until you realise it doesn’t matter as long as you have the answer

Within

The love within

How to feel fear vibrate through you and not distract

Nor hesitate

Just feel it

Watch it like a flame

Rise up

Burn brightly

Sputter and spit

Slowly dissipate

Leaving you released

From whatever it was talking about

And realising

It’s just a feeling

Caused by a thought

And if you are brave enough to sit with any feeling that you don’t want

Long enough

Till it burns down

Becomes ashes in your mouth

Swirl and rinse

Be done with it

Feelings can’t stop you

They’re a thing of the mind

A magicians trick

Sleight of hand

They just won’t stick

After you know how he did it

It’s almost boring

Smoke and mirrors

And you’ll wonder

How you were ever fooled for so damn long

20 thoughts on “The art of conflict

    • Childhood tends to teach us to sit down and behave not to enter into warfare in an intelligent way. I guess that’s what siblings are for but then mine were all so much older that I kind of had to behave well with them too – school doesn’t teach it and the workplace has its own hierarchy so eventually we work it out by ourselves and anything we work out by ourselves is messy by design. I could cross stitch it and hang it in a pretty frame now – if I did cross stitch which I don’t. It becomes easier and neater until you wonder how the hell such a simple thing is not simply taught – there would be less damn wars for sure.

  1. Ahh! I hope this art came naturally, like eating, for everyone without having to ‘learn it’ over the years. Very profound piece, Kate.

    • Thankyou Bulbul. We are taught so many things about what not to do – the simple act of defence and assertiveness is neglected. Conflict is avoided by the very people who need to know instead, that it is simply another skill to learn.

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