Madness

By Cliff Lake

 

Madness

 

The madmen.

The madmen are out there.

Perhaps you know one,

Perhaps you know many,

Perhaps you are one.

The madmen

The madmen are marching:

Lock-stepped in lunacy,

Repeating raw rhetoric,

Believing the impossible,

Reveling in hot-blooded lies,

Exhilaration found

In the dopamine feed of hate.

An addiction costing nothing,

That they haven’t already lost.

The madmen.

The madmen are close,

Announcing themselves loudly:

Peacock proud,

Colors waving,

Bannered, brazen, bold, bought.

Brave enough to weapon up,

Valorous in gangs,

Courageous in crowds –

The mob impulse protects.

The madmen.

The madmen are speaking,

Warnings couched in lies,

Dread made from whole cloth,

Fanciful terrors constructed,

Imaginary fates promised.

But protection is offered by the mad,

Safety from the fanciful,

Guardianship from fictional fears,

But not from themselves.

The madmen are here,

They wish you to join them.

They make it clear that if you do not,

They will make you,

And that’s maddening…

 

Cliff Lake 9/21/2024

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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