Everywhere you turn an opportunity
To rise and shine
But with every rise the potential to fall
And so with such abundance
And opportunity at our fingertips
We have become a nation of fearful
Nervous Nellies
Under a sky perpetually falling
Health, wealth, friends, family, environment
Each rich and just waiting to be mined
For all that can go wrong
Don’t even think of leaving the safety
Of your secure little nest
With its confirmation biases
And tunnel visions
A wild world awaits
Ready, willing and able
To eat you whole
Better to just stay inside
In the confines of your own safe space
And consume as much fear-p*rn
As you possibly can
It is your only hope, your only chance
To keep the wolves at bay.
And for your children?
Well, if you’ve been foolish enough
To take that route
And so take the tumble
Down that rabbit hole,
Don’t let them out of your sight,
Keep them plugged in and tuned out
And everything will be alright.
(10/2/30)
it’s so easy for my mind to wander
to you every June
when you wanted something more beautiful
and i wanted you
i wouldn’t hold you to it now
like the vines on the power lines
it was so long ago
your dream came true, my fantasy died
i want my heart back
my love that was stolen
to want you, to see you,
to leave the door open
i know you loved me, i just can’t remember how you said it
i can’t remember how you said anything
Self and selfless exist on a spectrum
A path of maturation
A path of relative perspective
From personal to transpersonal.
When you are young it is all about you
As you grow you see there are others too
Until when old, finally see those others
Make up the many, and you the very few.
All of us are hardwired for empathy
And compassion too
Although the two are not the same.
Empathy, connected to our pain centers,
Makes us feel other’s pain as our own,
A basically selfish concern.
Compassion, connected to our love centers,
Makes us want to take on and share
The suffering of others,
An inherently selfless concern.
Compassion doesn’t lead us to harm others
But empathy can. Empathy
Is what lies at the root of mass hysteria
Leading one to join a lynch mob
Soccer-fan riot
Anti-ICE protest
Or nationalist army marching to war.
Compassion is what leads us to see the other
As no different from ourselves
No matter what side the other is on.
In the end it’s really not selfless
It’s just self expanded
To include it all.
(1/23/26)
mass hysteria
uncontrollable laughter
dancing to their deaths
historical or hysterical?
fact or fiction?
legend? myth?
I am dancing like the others
and we cannot stop giggling
Am I here, am I there ...
Am I screaming everywhere,
Can't get in, can't get out
Snared by what it's all about
Beats of blue-green 'round my head
Share the space with rockets of red,
Splashes of yellow paint pour ...
Black and white reassures me more
Louder and louder, nearly deaf
Are there any sane one's left?,
Just what is it, tell me quick
Really, is it all in the music?
Lost in the crowd but I can only see you
The outside world falls into the background
I succumb to the frenzy all around me
feeding off your energy
I'm infatuated with the way those nimble fingers tickle those strings
I laugh at the gentle violence nudging my thoughts
Wishing it were me
These vibrations fill my body blushing I can no longer stifle the joyful scream caught in my throat
On my tounge a thousand bees are buzzing
To seize the honey dripping from your eyes
Bodies move in unison, the rhythmic humming of our hearts
This melodius ritual , feet pounding out our beautiful hysteria
I could dance to my death.......
T S ELIOT 'HYSTERIA'
c L i
M a T e
c
H a
N g E
g L o
B a L
w A r
M
i N G
Sheila is thirteen
So everything is worst scenario
Woe is me
Consistent melodrama
No one likes me
Everyone hates me
This pimple is the size of a barn
Hashtag I am a failure
We all tried to encourage her
Especially me
I am her grandma
This is my job
We could not get her out of this thirteen-year-old-girl mode.
No matter what.
I am ugly! Sheila whined.
Hysteria, her hamster gave her the thumbs up.
She stared for about two seconds
Then we all started laughing
And it was over
Hysteria always knows what to do.
My gorge rises, my blood boils.
Exasperated I bite my envenomed tongue.
Incensed I spout mad words
that have no meaning
defending my attitude,
maintain my poise.
I bait, fret and nag,
like a tantalizing volcano
that has yet to decide
whether to erupt or not.
Don't answer me back,
Twill only fan the flames
of my irritable ire.
For if I erupt, then
there is no going back.
Don't goad me into a quarrel,
my lava burns.
So beware.
She leaves never to return.
Good.
After all what is she?
A lazy domestic cleaner
that performs half the work assigned
And get paid in full for it.
My wife smiles.
She’s glad the cleaner is gone for good.
She is too sexy for comfort.
Locked in a cell
key was lost long ago
from every wall
slimy pink speakers squirm
they shriek
and my eyes are clouded in pain.
the noise crashes to a stop.
suddenly empty,
the cell screams in joy
doubled over laughing
but the tears won't stop.
I shiver with excitement
shaking with laughter
as the droplets fall from my eyes.
the speakers shriek again
but I don't notice.
So stuck in this pit of sobbing laughs and broken minds
I am my own worst nightmare.
What about China?
When they compel you to stay home,
imposing cloaks on nature's beauty
as a fellow friend becomes a foe
and the media unhorsed propaganda
Can we all all ask
what about china?
When old Brit's prime minister
masked tyranny by orders
confining millions to solitude
for the fear of his fickle frame
susceptible to the Wuhan's scourge
can we all ask,
what about China?
When confused men make projections
to feed the greed of the tech giants
or to maintain the cult of the pharmacy
as the media control our lives
as we surrender our freedom to fear
can we all ask
what about China?
So fast was the manipulations
so wide did it spread
so gullible were we all without reasons
to ascent to the communist schemes
who will ask my questions?
Are they clear of the scourge, and we are not?
Can we all ask
what about China?
Communism mocks you all
Perestroika and glasnost seeks revenge
so while your media makes the rouse
as ignorant men speculates,
turning humans to masked animals
obfuscating nature's beauty
can we all ask,
what about China?
Little known virus billed with hype
is much like the elusive snipe
look for clues and bilk mysteria.
COVID-19 is a blight
take your temperature, dispel fright
combat the urge of hysteria.
Cancellations? don't groan and gripe
take wise advice to wash and wipe
learn CDC’s criteria.
Counter laziness, use your might
raise your normal household fight
reduce viruses, bacteria.
Social distancing is an archetype
of honest help instead of tripe
Heed experts in your area.
Apply intentional foresight,
Observe limits with sweetness and light
Thank God this is NOT malaria.
March 16, 2020
I'm sleeping amongst mass hysteria
Compulsed with my own mania
Are we living in a fallen world
Is it a sign of the end, settled
O' Corona, Corona
Please go away
I full of snoot and decay
Don't know what to say
It’s scary, snarly
I cough, rasp, wheeze
Speak hoarsely
I'm old and weary
But none the wiser
I hear my angel whisper
In the sweet hereafter
It was just a dream stupor
State of mind rapture
Devoid of Corona exposure
Movies these days are filled with violence
Perhaps one reason for this rash of mindlessness
Pushes one over the edge
When already on the ledge
Perhaps one reason for these mass killings we all dread
Cosmic Hysteria
When I look into the mirror I feel small
A plate of glass twisted in the wind
Barbed wire fences a line is being formed in the sand
As a society we place courage to fake freaks in the dark
Perhaps this is what we have been waiting for
A current to push the resin of the blade from within
Shelter lies dormant amidst it's beckoning plough
It's cosmic hysteria out on the street
Blood shed in it's vast formation regime
Like a cold clap in the dark we lit our flame
Through the saving grace of our nation's flag
Sadness taunts the inner part of my belly
The gravitational pull may bring some down
A challenge to be free is a question of time
Shouts then the grenade that was thrown at my front door swing
Smiles from a lonesome child left me crazy from within
This crazed hysteria shall prove a quest for more
With evil minds that plug destruction scorching your brain washed minds
Perhaps George Orwell was write with his success of 1984
The newest fad with the chip in hand should give one pause to think
Blood being poured out in our street they call this love
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.