anger

He threw a punch when he was called a sissy
for claiming that the capture-the-flag teams were unfair.
It flew in the air, missed the face by a yard.

Obvious revelation of the day:
Rage is real.
And not just that, but close to the surface.
If this long-haired child, sweet and smart
with gentle wise parents
who once burst in to tears so hard
when there was no more vegan pizza.
could react with all his raw sincerity by throwing a punch.

Both boys were upset, but when I asked them what happened
were brimming with apologies.
"I-was-just-upset-I-didn't-want-to-hurt-him-I-had-no-intention-to-he's-my-friend"
I told them both it would probably mean a lot
to the other to apologize.
and I didn't even follow them to witness, when they approached each other.

The teams were unfair, he was right.
we watched the good team cream the bad team,
and he quickly joined the next round

honesty like a free school 8 year old
I guess does not mean moving beyond getting mad
but rather learning how to let rage flow through and out of you, and to move on.