a madness divine

November 29, 2009 at 9:08 am | Posted in poetry, senti-mentality, writing | 22 Comments
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each moment eternal and an end to all fine lines
frills and neat flesh tones niceries removed
madness is the first accusation of those unfeeling
or who would insist their truth is the only unformulated
assertion, the world is full of cowards but few artists

ee cummings mudlovely whistleblower with balloons
was surely no coincidence of mere hooves towing caravans

the question of our sanity is resolved
by aligning certain fences til the
attitudes of others become irrelevant
you see

one thing
true in every situation
time and place and human
it is joy and it is you.

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  1. look how close these two words are in their shape –

    joy you

    j and y are interchangeable sounds in some languages.

    (Paul – I changed the title, edited out some small words and changed the linebreaks at the end. When you get back from your swim let me know.)

    Fantastic, thanks Paul. I left the linebreaks and edits but changed the title back. Let the questions re- authorship begin, haha.

    Comment by Paul Squires— November 29, 2009 #

  2. that is wondeful. just gorgeous the way it flows and merges. ‘the first part is important’ (my friend looking over my shoulder said that) the ee cummings thing
    fabulous and the last line….wow
    ‘it holds a mirro to egor’ my friend says, ‘and leaves it exposed’ (cool. i think we meant a mirror to the ego) ‘then taking one through the steps to joy’.

    Comment by tipota— November 29, 2009 #

  3. I see your doppelganger has been hard at work while you’ve been off gallivanting about in the pool. The new title is excellent, though ‘outrageous moustachios’ was very Paulogistic. The third stanza is a classic and totally true. A very wise poem.

    Comment by Gabrielle Bryden— November 29, 2009 #

  4. wonderful piece, any work that can find a resolution to madness, in and of itself, is simply sublime.

    Comment by Mark William Jackson— November 29, 2009 #

  5. Wonderful. This is so ripe with quotable lines – and my favorite?

    …the world is full of cowards but few artists

    – and who couldn’t love:

    …madness is the first accusation of those unfeeling

    Your pieces would make for the most wonderful of titles for paintings:

    truth in every situation
    an end to all fine lines
    aligning certain fences
    time and place and human
    a madness divine

    In my work, the image often follows, then accompanies the idea/ideal.

    And I cannot help but “see” ee cummings floating with balloons over a oxcart.

    Wit and power. Such a lovingly lethal combination.

    Comment by Patrice— November 29, 2009 #

  6. 🙂 what joy in madness

    Comment by aefiel— November 30, 2009 #

  7. that felt good!

    Comment by hayat— November 30, 2009 #

  8. the only place to be in such crazy times is that place that others define as madness…. excellent poem

    Comment by Crafty Green poet— November 30, 2009 #

  9. You were definitely in touch with your divine side when you wrote this. That first line is sheer perfection. I could think about it for days….

    Comment by Selma— November 30, 2009 #

  10. The truth causes insanity, but perversely, it is also the cure. Only an artist could know this Mr. Squires and this is a wonderful example of your Squireness. Brilliant connectors between the lines and words.

    Comment by Val— November 30, 2009 #

  11. “Poetry is divine madness”…Plato

    I love your work Paul. And I don’t get by to read as often as I should or as often as I would like but I think of you often and drop in when I can. I have never considered myself sane. What a BORING thing to be. My third book of poetry is about finished; not published, merely finished. (laughing)

    Comment by Fabian— November 30, 2009 #

  12. The whole poem is very beautiful but I especially love the last four lines.

    Comment by The Querulous Squirrel— November 30, 2009 #

  13. This is so beautiful and true.. I am going to go and align those fences of mine… 🙂

    Comment by mysoul— December 1, 2009 #

  14. the best of eecummings esk thoughts… at first i thought you were moving towards christmas holiday cheer… and who is this shadow that paddles towards typeset and language… as always a joy to wonder thru your today thoughts of love right now….

    Comment by pieceofpie— December 1, 2009 #

  15. I love all your poems, but I think this one might be my very favorite. Brilliant, food for thought, inspirational, uplifting, transcendental — and sheer joy of life shines radiantly from your last stanza.

    Comment by Thomma Lyn— December 1, 2009 #

  16. Excelent poem I really liked and agreed with it, reminded me about focault book regarding the invention of madness, which was when the insane asylums where created and people where separeted according to their mental sanity or not, which still is of dubious rigurosity.
    Here is a post that relates to that a little bit, but I would rather recomend you to read the book
    http://singyourownlullaby.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-is-mental-illness-mental-health.html

    Be well and take care paul

    Comment by mariana_soffer— December 1, 2009 #

  17. Since poetry infrequently makes news, I bring you this, in case you missed the satisfaction of it:
    “(AFP) – 10 hours ago
    PARIS — An original signed copy of Charles Baudelaire’s brooding romantic poems “Les Fleurs de Mal” sold for a record 775,000 euros at an auction in Paris on Tuesday.
    The 1857 edition went on sale with other belongings of the 19-century poet, including letters and a dictionary that he used to translate works of American writer Edgar Allen Poe.
    The price for the book, equivalent to 1.17 million dollars, was more than five times its estimated value before the sale. Another copy of the book fetched 560,000 euros in 2007, sales expert Francois Valleriaux told AFP.
    A letter titled “Du suicide” (about suicide), written by Baudelaire about an attempt to take his own life in 1845, went for 225,000 euros — a record for a letter by the poet.
    The sale at the Drouot auction house in Paris totalled more than four million euros.

    Comment by Bwca Brownie— December 2, 2009 #

  18. Beautiful and absolutely brilliant!

    Comment by Mental Mist— December 3, 2009 #

  19. yes, i most definitely think that we all should use the word “joy” more often

    Comment by breathenoah— December 3, 2009 #

  20. love this poem
    embrace the crazy
    xox

    Comment by gypsy— December 4, 2009 #

  21. Robert Frost had the “good fences make good neighbors” but we have to build our own fences. One readjusts the boundaries from time to time.

    Resolving the sanity is lovely as is irrelevance.

    Mudlovely — that’s the superfluidity that struck me in the other poem. Aligning fine lines — there’s a lot in this incisive puzzle.

    Comment by Aletha— December 4, 2009 #

  22. The wisdom that is interwoven in these lines is endless… a classic.

    Comment by gnunn— December 4, 2009 #


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