Umbrage
Drat!
I thought I had got rid of this, but here
it is in my pocket, a small
sticky ball,
this inert, charred bolus
of fetid emotions, unsightly feeling
of being affronted.
Some days, just in case,
I used to take it with me, but tight-zipped.
Snapped. Furled.
And then, I really thought I had dropped it,
just let it go. But
it turns out
NO!
Leslie Schultz
You are so right!
Oh! This is wonderful! Pockets are full of surprising non-surprises, aren’t they? Well done!
!!!
I now always think of poisonously sweet Delores Umbrage in the HARRY POTTER world. And I love that it carries the senses of shadow (“umbra”) and the color of “burnt umber.”
Umbrage – such a great underutilized word. Always thought it sounded like a grumpy old man who was mad at things he hadn’t done. I have a picture of him in my head. Now he could be mistaken for a dark sticky ball of mud and lint! We all have those balls in our “pockets” and you’ve captured that so well.