Mae Foreman

The Madman and The Lunatic

by Mae Foreman

Wednesday 31st July 2019 5:07 pm (first posted Sunday 14th July 2019 1:21 am)

When the madman and the lunatic met in a formal feast

They spoke of logic and the frequencies of the moon

"I will conquer the world" said the lunatic "fairly soon!"

"Without a doubt, but be warned" my suave blue-blooded beast

"You will scorch the Earth and crush its people in vain,

The order is singular; even though the moon succeeds

The Great King Sun shall always hold the Earth's reign

The opal evening glow is a lie which the frail eye of Man needs.

"I shall hoist the colors of the glorious moonlit sky

I shall weave the lunar sphere on my herald and banner"

"Man was born to be free ever since he wondered "why?"

You will be a tyrant and a ruler of a crude manner."

"What does a man know of the the world; what wisdom

does possess he- who cowardly dwells in an urn?

"More than a boy will ever know of his own kingdom

who holds birth right to all things men ought to earn.

Despised is he who casts shadows on his fellow man

Step away from the sunlight young Alexander!

It is not I who deprived you of your place in the sun

A father's purpose is not to steal their boy's thunder."

Pensive and quiet the lunatic mounted his feral stallion

The madman slipped back inside his vessel of solace

Steel from his duty to righteousbess refusing to face

The maming of a thousand souls of the Fooled Battalion.

🌷(7)

◄ Wake Up And Smell Reality

Mid-Summer Monsoon, Pantoum ►

Comments

Mae Foreman

Mon 15th Jul 2019 13:52

Hi Tommy! Yes Diogrnes and Alexander! Really? I'm diving into your work pronto! I'm curious to find your approach! ?
Thanks for stopping by ?
Mae

Tommy Carroll

Sun 14th Jul 2019 22:47

Mae your exchange between Diogenes and Alexander, I used in verse on this site a while ago. It has great resonance and worthy of greater usage.

Tommy

Mae Foreman

Sun 14th Jul 2019 19:23

Thank you so much dear Jason! ? The Dragon spoke wisely once more.
Personally I prefer what the reader reads in my poems over what I write in them! I keep exploiting that poor ingenious, empathetic, insightful reader! And I thank them! Jason, I won't lie, you are one of the best readers of my poems! But on this one all three thrived! Mindy, Martin and as Jason, thank you for your interpretation, it makes my piece a whole lot better than it was when I wrote it!
So thank you all?
Mae

Jason Bayliss

Sun 14th Jul 2019 18:48

As ever, I love it Mae. I love for all the reasons already mentioned and also for what it represents within us all.
They say the reader takes from each poem what they will and the thing this speaks of to me, deep down, is the eternal battle within us all between desire and doubt, between lust and fear.
On one hand you have the proud, powerful, bold young emperor, full of potential and blissful ignorance, and on the other you have the, "Wise," old man, who sees the deep consequences of the actions of all and some could argue, is so scared of them, seeks safety by living in an urn.
One, Unfettered by his ignorance and one immobilised by his wisdom.
To me, at a deep level, this is Yin and Yang. The dragons of chaos and order, creativeness and control.
There is a line, a sweet spot between them where they would perfectly complement each other, and much like in each of our lives, it is the eternal, internal balance we seek between the will to fulfill desire and the wisdom to know whether we should or not.

Very clever.

Loved it Mae,

J. x

Mae Foreman

Sun 14th Jul 2019 17:12

Thank you so much Martin! I'm happy to hear you picked up on that! Both characters are controversial , I think, in actuality and in my poem. Maybe the man knows less than he thinks, maybe more than a hot blooded youth who wants to prove himself... I like the idea of non resolution and a bitter, non glorious frustrating ending!
Thank you again?
Mae

Martin Elder

Sun 14th Jul 2019 16:22

I thought this was about Alexander the great as I read it through. I particularly love the fourth stanza which poses the question what does man know. What indeed does he know. I would suggest a lot less than he thinks.
I love the way you have written this Mae with almost a fairy tale like quality to it or perhaps that of an ancient poem.
Very nice

Mae Foreman

Sun 14th Jul 2019 02:31

Yes anecdotes like this one are gold! Your background is excellent!!!?
x.x
Mae

Mae Foreman

Sun 14th Jul 2019 02:18

Thank you Mindy! I write all kinds of things, some of them are consisted by monologues and dialogues... who knows! Actually it wasn't entirely made up. It was based on a anecdote of Ancient Greek History. It is said that Alexander the Great heard of this famous philosopher who lived a very frugal life. Diogenes who was a "cynic" as philosophic currents go lived in an urn, for reasons I don't recall... Alexander had heard of the sage and wanted to meet him. Diogenes was haughty and didn't seem impressed at all by the young monarch and Alexander was taken by that! After a short encounter Alexander asked if there was anything he could do for the wise man as a token of admiration and Diogenes said something along the lines of" Step out of the sun!" Which prompted the infamous (at least where I live) statement: Don't deprive me of what you can't offer me!"
The dialogue I wrote of course has nothing to do with the actual anecdote the facts, or the two particular individuals, it's just a dialogue I pictured in my head. For me they are two crazy people each.for their own reasons both with power in their hands... One is abusing it and the other refuses to use it at all.
Thank you Mindy?
Mae

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