Mad

[jayn]

Mad ( jayn Dec 14)

When you are insane
do you feel insane?
I doubt it
Perhaps madness is willingness
to express truth
an emotional flowering of the soul
Such authenticity
like children
bright as wattle clouds on a blue day
when self doubt and crushing solitude
seem less pressing

Better to seem than be
a category of existence
handed out by convention
to defend normal
while normal builds lives
behind crumbling brick walls
held up on stapled sticks

Which is true
the wall or the wattle blossom
Madness both
nuanced by superficiality
One is fake
and the other immutably real
yet we deny truth inside ourselves
refuse a blossoming
of thoughts and other destinies
that free us
create another kind of insanity
constructed on pretence
bound by laws and attachments
to worthless lies
that make no sense

Is madness
confronting reality with dreams
where meaning is
tearing down a fire escape that nobody else uses
and always falling into the fire…
Silently we scream
and unheard
die a thousand little deaths
of misunderstanding

Learning from searing pain
I guard me the child
from anyone who disbelieves her
and knowing her experience is my life
hold her inside myself
valued as truth
embrace her, believe her, love her
a mother protecting her from herself
with my life

[seraph1420]

we need madness as much as we need sanity to survive. the world becomes a lot dull when the insanity vanishes and all we have left is suits and ties and suitcases everywhere. we need to be crazy for our own composure. but, then again, not everyone thinks alike. madness it's not really an illness, it's just a state of being different in the otherwise all too similar world. and, this state of being different can sometimes be referred to as a taboo and, hence, a declaration of insanity. i adore your piece to every word. i'm just not sure if it should be in the heart board.

thanks for sharing, though

cheers
seraph

[karrie]

This had my mind going in all sorts of directions. I like the tone and the thoughts expressed. Nice write!

[candlewitch]

hello,

this is a nice rant on your deeper thoughts and feelings. thanks for sharing.

always, Cat

[riversidepoet]

The mind is a wonderful and awful thing, thanks for sharing

[JASON]

I often miss the bus with my interpretation but this was spectacularly written...
I really,really enjoyed this.

[jayn]

I placed it in Heart because it is about loving self (unselfishly and protectively), at all costs in order to survive the accusations and cruel actions of people who refuse to understand difference quite deliberately. More importantly, they create the categorisations of the human psychological continuum that harm those who are unintentionally different. Truly, honesty and independence help those of us who wish to change throughout the journey of our lives. I think being true to yourself is a hard road, but it's a good one to travel.

[escorial]

so much poetry is similar to prose and i enjoy that on so many levels...i like the way you delivered the subject matter....nice

[WriterMinuit]

Ah, what a beautifully woven poem; the conversing rhythm flowed in an effortless manner. The topic choice was wonderful-- it is true that the life we lead is a persona. It is 'convention', and, to quote from Alice and Wonderland, some of us are mad "but all the best people are."
Thank you for the pleasure of this wonderful read. A worthy spotlight for sure. The quote that shall stay with me from this poem is:
'Perhaps madness is willingness
to express truth'
I think you've nailed it there.