Let us begin, hamstrung, between Captain America and Yossarian
Where madness and resolution chime like a haunted octave...
Let us begin there. Let us tune in the news, the weather, truth,
Falsehood, ambiguity, and The Right Thing.
Here in the possessed center, there is our eye. It is never still.
It must continue to see the hurricane, spinning at the frequency
Of that octave, which is pitch smeared into sight as a storm wall
Flickering on every screen, at once.
We can imagine there is no storm, but the eye is gratified,
Like the mind, by those colored chords, by composing Chaos,
By whistling it right down our restless nerves, into the wind.
Wind with teeth, wind with dreams.
Dreams begin in nonsense and image. So when one horse
Puts it forehead to another, when each breaths the other's steady
Heartbeat and the struggle begins--which do you pull away
For the day's work?
Whom do you hitch to the carousel?
Sharing today with The Sunday Muse (the picture is the Muse's prompt) and Poets United.
--chrissa
I had forgotten the name of the protagonist in Catch 22... but somehow I always thought that sometimes madness is more like sanity than sanity itself.
ReplyDeleteI like the tuning in of the news, truth, falsehood and the right thing. One has to pick one's way carefully these days! Love the image of the horses putting their foreheads together.
ReplyDeleteAlas, dreams do have a way of beginning in nonsense and image; and then eventually something happens in them that makes sense. Just like poetry sometimes, aren't they? Eventually the ideas all come together, and the reader says, "Aha!"
ReplyDeleteI came, I read and I leave with a smile.
ReplyDeleteLove the struggle throughout the write. Well penned, Chrissa.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one and sometimes the other? But I guess it always comes down to a choice. I love your wonderful use of language!
ReplyDeleteLike your idea of tunes and music and how you wove them into the poem . . :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful words! Your work is a pleasure to read!
ReplyDeleteWe are so bombarded in today's world with an immense amount of conflicting narratives and imagery, that trying to discern the truth can feel like a slow descent into madness. And while that carousel might look like fun, all it does is go in circle as the wind blows on.
ReplyDeleteDreams begin in nonsense and image ... oh but what a thrill when they do!!! Gorgeous write, Chrissa ❤️
ReplyDeleteI like to tune into the truth and The Right Thing!
ReplyDeleteWe are living in times when Truth and The Right Thing seem to be a matter of opinion. It's a terrifying thought, especially when reality keeps on telling us that not everyone has the right to choose which is which or why or to whom any of it might apply. It's madness gone wild and blind. And when the beast stops running around and finally accepts to be hitched to the carousel, the one holding the dreamed (or nightmared) rope realizes that there is nothing tie to anything.
ReplyDeleteLove those last lines and the questions they hold! Oh how dreams can pull us onward one way or another. Lovely and magical with thoughts that make us think! I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love the ending on this poem, Chrissa!
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