In Times of Madness

I wrote this poem one day after watching a mass shooting on the news and then seeing an incredibly ugly painting that sold for a fortune. For me it indicates how our society really is going crazy.

In a time of madness,
when insanity is scratched
on canvas by angry painters
and sold for peanuts while
they breathe but when long
dead of too much drugs, then
100 million will go flying away
for a picture without beauty
or humanity or even truth--
for that suicidal artist was
sainted and now sworn by
all the little experts who
happily declare his greatness. 

In a time of madness, how
will the sane find meaning
when art is the emperor
without clothes, baked
and butt ugly but none
dare speak the truth:
that there is no truth,
just anger and hate and
febrile, unfertile ugliness.

In times of madness, people
follow shells, moving voids,
and have burnt all the maps
and squashed every compass.
They follow only one god as
it impregnates them with a
myriad of fears and delusions.

And soon they turn to murder:
a reign of terror, a pogrom,
civil war, a genocide... or
a simple push of the button.

Reviews

[Onlyme]

Well said and totally agree with you. Crazy things like paintings and art and footballs getting crazy wages every week. And folk are dying in the street every day of knife crimes. And wars and famine across this planet are happening too. The mass population on this planet is money mad and greedy for this and that and the next thing. And some poor soul. Is just scrapping on by from mouth to hand to survive daily. Or some crazy person has killed a load of people because they were having a bad day. This world is truly fucked up. Well, actually not the Planet. The people on it.

[Nolo Segundo]

You're very thoughtful and I would guess, young and British (the reference to 'knife crimes'-- in America we have more gun crimes), and you're right about the world being fucked up-- but not our magnificent earth. I have realized over 70 plus years that human nature is innately broken-- each of us is in one way or another. But don't despair-- there is a power/force/being far greater than we can imagine operating in the Universe. You can call it God or Allah or Nirvana or Vishnu, but it is a power we can reach out to for help, even for healing of body or mind or soul. And by this I do not mean religion in the sense of dogma or doctrine, but simply opening your heart, your mind, your soul to-- Perfection.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I agree society has gone crazy we must seek solace in our minds and hearts and be strong in ourselves not to conform I liked your poem a lot thanks

[Nolo Segundo]

Thank you, J.

[Resa]

WOW!!!
That was incredibly intense!
So much relatable passion in that piece , at least for me.
Everyone sees things through differed lenses.
Amazing read!
Thank you!
Resa

[Nolo Segundo]

And thank you, Resa--I've read a lot of history and so know the madness so widespread today s nothing new-- it seems there is something fundamentally broken in our human nature.