Yah! Another poem, and another background explanation: For a creative writing class we had to use the phrases 'pitcher of bitterness' and 'the taste of sacrifice'... neither of which are particularly uplifting. I did try to make it a tea party reference, although I'm not quite sure how that worked out...a pitcher of bitterness
swallowed daily
with a cup of tea and a biscuit
sour and angry and hard to chew
the taste of self-sacrifice
lingers in my mouth
burning
as it flows across my lips
it aches inside
my bones
my joints
my flesh
groan in complaint
at this old quarrel
in which my mind’s eye is narrowed
to
black slits
inking across cheeks frozen by dry, crusted tears