' The poison verse,, the Buddha actually spoke '...

The “drinking poison” line is worth naming precisely because there is a real verse underneath the impulse behind it — and it is sharper. Sakka, lord of the gods, asks the Buddha what one thing is worth killing. The answer is a small masterpiece of diagnosis: ....................................................................................................................................... When anger’s slain you sleep at ease. When anger’s slain there is no sorrow. Anger has a poisonous root and a sweet tip, O Vāsava. The noble ones praise its killing, for when it’s slain there is no sorrow. ........................................................................................................................................ Chetvāsutta SN 11.21 trans. Bhikkhu Sujato ........................................................................................................................................ The Pali is kodhassa visamūlassa, madhuraggassa — poison at the root, sweetness at the tip. That is the opposite shape from the internet quote, and a far better description of the experience. Anger does not taste of poison. It tastes good, especially at the moment you give in to it; the harm is underground, in the root, and arrives later. Notice too what the Buddha offers as the evidence: not a moral argument but a night’s sleep. Vāsava is another name for Sakka, the deity who also appears in SN 11.4 below.................... from e-buddhism.com