Twice around the world he sped
pursuing madness, folly
Unrequited lover he
denied, his desperate volley
Once ignited, passions roused
flames obey no limits
Wildfires scorch the tender earth
unbridled desire's afterbirth
The emptiness
between
all thought
is a siren
Life
only gives birth
in cogent
reflection
Her wasteland
is dark
if she traps
you outside
Distilling
the distance
between
body and soul
Neither coming
nor going
existence
implodes
Neither coming
nor going
the schism
explodes
Neither coming
nor going
all motion
is dead
Neither coming
nor going
only madness
— remains
(Dreamsleep: September, 2026)
When she winks and gives me that smirk
It opens a labyrinth where my pleasure lurks.
I walk inside her eyes so kind
Into a garden of madness so divine.
Grapes that grow freely in the snow
Roses that flourishing in blazing glow.
Berries bustling in thick marl and clay.
Dogwoods that rise from the beach of the bay.
Polar bears juggling wild coconuts.
Dolphins on ice skates preparing to lutz.
Kangaroos pirouetting in ballet shoes.
A shark with a guitar singing the blues.
She cannot view all of the beauty I see
When the girl I covets has eyes for me.
poor choice
snack shame
junk food
guilt glitter
bean dip
lazy lava
nachos
cheesy
cheese chaos
melt mess
Cheetos
cheese demons
cheesy popcorn
crunch riot
Fritos
crunchy
crunchy
shrapnel
tooth doom
broke tooth
tooth pain
dentist
dentist
visit
snacking
failure
Lightning lances across the sky
But off in the distance like dragon spines
Are the Mountains of Madness
And that is where I march
A sky twisted scarlet and violet
The clouds themselves seem to be bleeding
And the temperature alternates
Between blistering heat and blizzardly freeze
Reality is fabricated from dreams
And dreams are a distortion of my thoughts
Which are poorly mimicked by my voice
And I can't even tell what is real
I found the blade of heroes
In a secret spring in a forgotten forest
Blessed as a scion of the gods
Even the elves helped guide my feet
A witch cast illusions over my eyes
Humans became demons
And demons became human
But the harsh reality is that was always true
In a world of demons and angels
Sometimes it's hard to know which is which
But with a hand over my heart
I offer a solemn prayer to find guidance
The Mountains of Madness loom larger
Demons, angels, and witches all beaten
And while never defeated I have been wounded
But to the mountains I have come
But alas the madness was not in the mountains
Because the madness was in my mind
And the villain I pursued this whole time
Was actually me all along
Referees getting paid to guess
They always miss the mess
I jump to block, they callin’ net
This always makes me so upset
One bad call makes us lose the game
The refs are always the one to blame
My coach yelling out loud
It sounds like a thundering cloud
The other team enjoying their time
We going to get them back sometime
Coming home filled with sadness
I wish they could get rid of this madness
Stay with me
Just want us to be
I hope we never grow apart
You are my sweetheart
You are something that I crave
Looking at you looks like an ocean wave
Please don’t let me go
I just want to know
I love you like winter snow
Even though you moved on
I don’t want this love gone
Hold me through the tears of pain
I hope you feel the same
Evil spirits rotting thoughts
Evil spirit heard a happy thought going by
Trapped in the house where it departed
It twisted the joy into a jagged blade,
Dipped in shadows and pride.
It drove that spike through the victim’s ear,
And it nested deep in the brain.
The man thought he was losing his mind,
As he listened to the whispers of pain.
But it wasn't madness or a wandering wind,
That made his skin turn cold.
It was the spirit, feeding on his light,
Until the story was told.
Even if you skip big meanings
Minding petty pace of days
Yours is splendid way of living
Straightening paths in every maze
There you go across the water
There you fly upon the land
There you stand amidst the slaughter
Which you fail to understand
What seemed complex turns out plain
As the years go by it gets
Clearer that we go insane
With our number of upsets
Tempered madness works like pill
Daily doses you can measure
By yourself, no form to fill
You would need for such a pleasure
If it doesn’t satisfy
Then you have a great resource
To repeat the reasons why
Voluntary, not by force.
Beuracratic twee Bridgend..Has banned a
Donkey ride buisness, thats been on the go'
For over, one hundred years; my friends!
Such great interaction with good muscle workouts..When the donkeys
Saw action.' I reckon they walked in dry, the damp; and rain.' Being usefull to their humans is for them no pain.' Tactile animals they enjoy being the attraction.!! Bringing
Smiles to kids faces, and much satisfaction..Inner city children maybe some blind, feeling fur and maybe not?
Left out? Or behind.? Jay Bateman their
Owner is so very sad..I a just see straightjacket
Manner, when all is said.' A clinical answer
To a non-existent irk..Being rammed
Down Porthcawl shoreline..Though in reality it don't
Work.'
Muffled mutterings
gibber refrains of madness
in my twisted ears.
The servo sign flickers.. then punches your soul..
Numbers climb higher than you can control.
You stare at the price like it’s taking the piss..
“Wasn’t it cheaper? What madness is this?”
You tap on the pump like it might be a glitch..
Like somehow the numbers will drop if you twitch.
But nah, they keep climbing, no mercy in sight..
That shortage excuse rolled out day and night.
We laugh with our mates, “Yeah, she’s brutal, no doubt..”
But under that humour, there’s stress creeping out.
Bills stacking higher, the budget stretched tight..
While headlines spin causes we can’t really fight.
They point at the markets, the wars, and the trade..
At deals that were signed and the choices once made.
Global decisions, far out of our hands..
Still land at the pump where the average one stands.
So we joke and we whinge, ‘cause what else can we do?
When the tank’s nearly empty and payday’s not due.
We laugh at the madness, but deep down we know..
It’s more than just fuel.. it’s the cost of the blow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bluebonnets spill across the Texas highways~
it's as if the earth has flung open
a thousand secret doors
and let the sky fall through.
They gather in unruly congregations
crowding ditches,
leaning into the wind,
lifting their blue-lit faces
toward every passing traveler.
March moves through them
like a quiet blessing,
coaxing color from the soil
until the land becomes a hymn
unrhymed, unrestrained,
a wild devotion of blue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mad Marge, a squirrel with a daring soul,
at the wheel, she always lost control.
Through the car wash, she did dash,
in her tiny, souped-up green Nash.
It's March! she cried with glee,
It’s top-down weather; I’m wild and free!
Huge bristly brushes whirled for all to see.
Oh, the foam and jets! My car looks like a Humvee!
Marge emerged clean, her fur a shining sight,
her green Nash, a dazzling delight.
She sped away, her fur nothing but a blur,
March madness, fur sure, fur sure!
I lost myself today
Nothing left to say
Blowing in a breeze
Falling to my knees
All that madness
The darkest sadness
Letting it all go
The wild winds blow
Losing my grip
I let things slip
All my sins
Blowing in the winds
Forever falling
Hear me calling
Madness grinned
The howling wind
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.