Collective Madness ~ Poetry for the Insane

John is a poet and short fiction writer who enjoys collaborating on stories with other writers, and partaking in challenges.

Word Prompt: Madness

A friend and fellow writer Brenda Arledge has been sharing weekly word prompts

"Word Prompts Help Creativity is an article that includes a word prompt as a challenge for us to write something of our own choosing like a short story or poem. The hope is that this word helps us to find inspiration while having some fun writing.

The word prompt for week five is madness."

(*paraphrased from: Word Prompts Help Creativity/Week 5)

The following three poems are my attempt to use the word prompt provided. Thank you for sharing the inspiration, Brenda.

MADNESS ~ an Acrostic Poem

Madness is chaotic

An illness of the mind

Destroying those around you

Not noticing the signs

Extreme and foolish behaviour

Shapes these crazy times

Sanity is missing from such fragile minds.

The Madness Within

My mind’s like a volcano

Sitting dormant, so it seems.

But suddenly it may erupt

With full force so extreme.

Is this madness or compulsion

That wracks my troubled brain,

Or some uncontrolled psychosis

That renders me insane?

Is my life reality,

Or is this fantasy I live?

I cannot tell the two apart,

It’s caused my soul to grieve.

Will madness be my nemesis

That hounds me to my grave,

Or will my sanity prevail

And my sad life be saved?

Using One Sentence to Write a Poem

For the following poem, I used the method described in my recent article How to Write a Poem Using One Sentence as a Prompt.

I chose the following quote by Wei Hui:

"Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of society only because their intelligence isn’t understood."

We’re a Mad Lot

Crazy are the different ones

People who do not conform.

Are they really as perceived

Considered to be weird?

Mad by any other name,

By any other values,

The rich may be eccentric,

Rest upon their wealthy laurels.

Of course their status pandered too,

Society adjusts its standards

Only to suit ulterior motives.

Because the mad embarrass, mental illness has a stigma

Their presence must be kept low key.

Intelligence can’t be assessed by any rational means,

Isn’t relevant at all, or at least not plainly clear.

Understood? I hope so because we’re a mad lot after all.

© 2021 John Hansen

Comments

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 17, 2021:

Haha, maybe my words do come from that perspective, Shauna. They say most writers have a little madness in them.

Thank you for reading and appreciating these poems.

Shauna L Bowling from Central Florida on March 17, 2021:

Wow, John, you've outdone yourself with this one! If I didn't know better, I'd say you know how a mind saddled with insanity works first hand. It's as if your words came from the perspective of looking from the inside out.

It took a while for this to show up in my feed. Just wanted to stop by to let you know how much I appreciate your brilliant work. Your creativity knows no bounds, my friend!

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Hello Linda. Thanks for reading. Yes, I enjoyed writing these in different styles, even though the subject "madness" was interesting, to say the least.

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on March 16, 2021:

This is a creative article, John. As Ann says, the poems are clever. My favourite is the middle one, but I like all of them.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Thank you for taking the time to try to find me, Ann. I don’t know why everyone we follow doesn’t always appear on our feed. I often have the same problem and it gets frustrating. I am glad you liked these poems.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Thank you, manatita. I enjoyed the challenge if writing these which I probably wouldn’t have done without Brenda’s prompt.

Ann Carr from SW England on March 16, 2021:

Love these poems, John. You have a great selection here, all very clever. I couldn't find you in the feed yesterday, so I'm glad it's here today!

Sooooo frustrating, trying to be quick and then searching for ages. It's not conducive to lots of comments and that's what we want!

Anyway, well done!

Ann

manatita44 from london on March 16, 2021:

You've done a beautiful Job, John, plus some more! Brenda's Light, plus a touch of your own Light added. Exquisite!!

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Thanks, Bill. That means a lot from you. I’ll pass your compliments on to my muse.

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on March 16, 2021:

Outstanding, my friend! Like the true artist you are, you paint a picture using the smallest of prompts. Your muse guided you well on this challenge, buddy.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Aww, thank you, Pamela. What an encouraging comment. Much appreciated.

Pamela Oglesby from Sunny Florida on March 16, 2021:

I love this good variety of poems on madness. It certainly reflects your talent. Each poem was a creative masterpiece. Very good article, John!

Misbah Sheikh from The World of Poets on March 16, 2021:

John, I am glad to know, we share some similar thoughts

Blessings

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Hi Vanita. Glad you enjoyed the poems and the pictures. Thank you.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Thank you, Amara. I really appreciate it.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Wow! Misbah, thanks for such a great comment. Glad you enjoyed these poems. You won't believe this but I almost chose that quote by Aristotle to write the last poem from. You have a great week too.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Devika, you know poetry is in my blood. I am glad you can appreciate my love of it. Thanks for the kind comment.

Vanita Thakkar on March 16, 2021:

Nicely crafted poems. Great pictures. Enjoyed. Thanks for sharing.

Amara from Pakistan on March 16, 2021:

Wow, what a creativity.. Simply loved it.. Really nice..

Misbah Sheikh from The World of Poets on March 16, 2021:

John as always, mind-blowing poems

What a wonderful response to Brenda's prompt

Totally outstanding!

I enjoyed each word

You are always very careful in choosing words and

I love it always

The sentence poem "We’re a Mad Lot" is wonderful

Aristotle has rightly said, “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”

Thanks, I enjoyed it a lot

Have a blessed week

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on March 16, 2021:

Hi Jodah Poetry is perfect from you and I see the challenge is tops here. You put together a superb poem. Your creative mind works in mysterious ways. Thank you

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Hi EK, what an encouraging comment. Thank you.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 16, 2021:

Thank you, Tanmoy. I always appreciate your comments and critique.

EK Jadoon from Abbottabad Pakistan on March 16, 2021:

Jodah, I would say a big WOW. Superb work! I can see the excellence in your work. The way you have responded to challenge, is admirable.

Hegel from 26.3452° N, 89.4482° E on March 16, 2021:

Interesting poems, with some flashes of genuine brilliance and creativity.

Chrish Canosa from Manila Philippines on March 16, 2021:

Awesome! Thanks for that Sir John.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Nope, we are just two hours ahead of the Philippines.

Chrish Canosa from Manila Philippines on March 15, 2021:

I see, Philippines is just two ours late. I always thought it's morning there lol

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

It is 4.30pm here now, Chrish.

Chrish Canosa from Manila Philippines on March 15, 2021:

My pleasure! Sir John, if I may ask

What time is it out there ? I'm just bewildered during night you guys are here as well as morning haha

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Hello Chitrangada. I am sure there will be some wonderful responses to this word prompt. I am glad you enjoyed my attempt. Take care.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Ravi, thank you for such a generous comment. It is always a pleasure to have you read my work.

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on March 15, 2021:

This is an excellent response to the challenge by Brenda. I was sure, that we will see some amazing responses, to the word prompt, Madness. And, you did it!

I liked all your compositions, but the first two are wonderful.

Thank you for sharing this.

Ravi Rajan from Mumbai on March 15, 2021:

Loved this work, John. It truly is the epitome of madness and as usual, your wordflow is perfect and inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Hi Chrish, thank you for the kind comment. I am glad you like this way of writing. Stay safe.

Chrish Canosa from Manila Philippines on March 15, 2021:

It was an excellent read! Sir John. The topics are burning, this is also a virus to fear. Nowadays I dunno.

And oh! This is an awesome method of writing, great idea.

An awesome day ahead !

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Thank you, Brenda. Not my usual type of poetry but I let the dark side flow with these. I am happy you enjoyed these poems. Thanks again for the prompt.

BRENDA ARLEDGE from Washington Court House on March 15, 2021:

John,

I absolutely love your work on this one.

Even the pictures are great. I love the mad hatters, the curious one with the bed, even the face.

All of them are very good & use the word prompt MADNESS in a very effective manner.

I like how you used your own challenge for the sentence to create the last one.

Great job!

I will post a link on the article.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Thank you, Peg. I liked that image too.

John Hansen (author) from Queensland Australia on March 15, 2021:

Thank you, Rosina. A little madness never hurt anyone lol.

Peggy Woods from Houston, Texas on March 15, 2021:

I like your Mad Hatter's Tea Party image at the top of this page. It seems to suit the topic.

Rosina S Khan on March 15, 2021:

I loved these poems on madness, John. Great and splendid work. Thank you for sharing.