The Genius Madman

The Joker's character got me thinking. I honestly think he was a genius, a hero of sorts, before he became a villain. The finding of certain secrets can corrupt a person, even drive them completely mad...

 

Tired and exhausted

My body demands rest.

Aching muscles throb

And my heart pounds in my chest

Sleepless dreams come plaguing me,

When all I want is dreamless sleep.

Alternate realities

Play out in my mentality.

Can barely move

And my strength is gone

So why the hell

Will sleep not come?

 

It must be because…

 

My thoughts

          ZIP

                   ZING

                             BOING

                   PING

 

All around inside my head.

I contemplate insanity,

The depths of man’s mentality,

The lengths of our humanity

Before we reach animosity.

We could kill,

Each normal person

Has the ability

To end a life.

But here we stand

Under our rules

Trying to protect

Ourselves from us.

What if someone broke the rules,

What if someone didn’t care?

What if a genius lost his mind

And did what no philosopher would dare?

He could manipulate our minds,

Use his experiments to toy with us.

His pastime, his passion is bleak,

Twisted in its total chaos.

But this man did what he did

Knowing he’d be hated.

The genius, not the madman,

Should he not be commended?

He had the courage to take the chance,

To test his theories of man’s advance.

Can we blame him for his fall,

When he saw right through

The falseness of it all?

Author's Note

Madman, or genius? Make your own conclusions...

Reviews

[Legion]

Well, they always tell me there isn't much difference between the two right before they give me my pills. I like the questions you put forth here. They are ones I have contemplated for many years. Great write. Love the way you twisted and changed it in the middle. Oh, I think "pastimes" is actually spelled "pasttimes". Will have to check on it. Good write.

[SamBug]

Wow. Great poem. I really liked this one. Keep writing. I love them!

[Pauline Marie Daley]

Throughout the movie there was a prevailing question - hero or villian? You've stated that beautifully here. Sometimes the line is so thin, there's no way to know who truly is the hero. Very unique also. I enjoyed your use colors and sounds. Very cool. :-)

[Alasse Fefalas]

I love how you describe the way his mind works! Joker was truly the star of the Dark Knight, and not Batman himself. Personally, I don't think he's a madman, I think he's just got another perspective on life. And is a genius to boot.

Bravo on this work! :D

[NJ Schneider]

I loved the joker's character. He's always been my favorite super villian. I think this is a great opposite to my "My Dark Knight" poem. xD

Amazing write though John. Truely it is.

[Dead Angel]

the joker is the best villian in the history of villians and i do believe that he is a combination of genius and insanity. his theories were in the right place but the way he tested them out were a bit insane! what i liked about him is that he just took charge and went after what he wanted, he just took that nice method and took it to a whole other level. i believe he was just a mixture of both, but his head was in the right place...so to speak :P great write John and congrats on being the number one top writer :D

[Albert Freeman]

I agree. I think he was a mix of both. Man unleashed and unbound to the set moral code. You captured it all well with your poetry.

[livemorbidia]

amazing dude I love it.

[Celtic Cat]

Having been on the brink of madness many times myself... I have to agree there is a fine line between the two. Of course I'm not calling myself a genius, but certainly when you reach certain plateaus you have to make a decision which open pathway you choose. Love the boom bangs - very reminiscent of when I used to watch the original series on TV!!! Good write, John, very thoughtful, as most of your writes are!!

[casey robbins]

Definitely both. Genius is as common as dirt, but it takes a madman's thought process to escalate his capabilities to dangerous levels. Great poem. Everything about the style of the writing worked alongside with the emotion. Good use of onomanopoeia as well...