frustration’s a funny thing
it starts off small
barely noticeable
like a tickle in the back of your throat
after a while
it chips away
at the positive exterior
poking its way into your life
making itself known
calling out to be tended to
to be noticed
until you can no longer
ignore it
then what was once a tickle
is a full blown cough
unable to be disregarded
once it’s there
in your face
you’ve got to deal with it
one way or another
you can cry
or pout
or shout
or discuss
or retreat
or take action
it’s up to you
but it must be dealt with
this frustration that’s
built up inside of you
my heart is happiest when i travel. read. write. connect. 
Frustration and what you do with it. I love the poems and all of the descriptive words. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
This certainly sums up the challenges that go with being frustrated. I often choose the retreat path…taking time to rethink and decide next steps.
I take that path too…usually. Today was a combo of cry and discuss.
This was wonderful to read because it captures such a familiar feeling in a new way! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!!
Frustration can’t be ignored. Your writerly mind couldn’t also ignore the poetic opportunity. As sorry I am that you had reasons to be frustrated, I am glad that it inspired you to created this poem.
Thanks Terje! I am too. 😊
Right on point! Frustration is underlying and grows until it must be dealt with. I hope you’ve been able to resolve some of that frustration.
Some definitely!
If someone needed a poetic description of frustration, then you defined it perfectly, Jennifer.
I hope your frustration — with whatever is happening — diminishes soon.
Thanks Stacey! Today’s a new day!
I agree that our difficult emotions need attending to or else they can become bigger problems for us. I liked how you wrote your poem with no caps or punctuation. It reminded me of the not attending to and letting things go (like punctuation). I also thought about your choice of a cough and the time of covid. I thought about how maybe this has been the most frustrating year.
Gosh, this is so accurate! I love the comparison to a cough and the overall format. Excellent slice!! 🙂
Yes, perfect analogy to a cough. You can’t hide it, it must come out in some form or another. Great timing and use of space in this slice!
I love you compare frustration to a tickle that turns into a cough. Great metaphor. It really does get like that.
Great poem, you have expressed that annoying tiny growing feeling of frustration so perfectly with the minimum of words! I hope it helped you recover from your current frustration!
Thanks! It definitely helped me!