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Madman Poem

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Mountaintops and Madmen

Demented screams on stagnant wind
Distant in their sound
Relentless though with strength enough to make me turn around
Magnetic curiosity entices me to hear
Tempts me onward through the plains
Stronger as I near
I see you then in fading light beneath the thunderclouds
Atop the hill
Beneath your feet, the ever hopeful crowd
Against a dark, corrupted sky which hides your early sins
Till lightning strikes behind your back and shows your origins

Revealed in a flash of light
Seeds from which you grew
Your face unseen but not the souls of those who spoke like you
Your predecessors in a row that leads through history
Lurking there behind your back
Watching quietly
Your echoes of utopia once rolled off Lenin's tongue
Once led astray
Once dashed the hopes of hearts and minds too young
He listens as you mix your words into their hopeful dreams
Remembering nostalgically how cheers can turn to screams

The German devil watches too
Prideful with the truth
Beholding rabid gestures that you copied from his youth
Your dark, psychotic silhouette revives his evil ghost
Tempts him deep into your heart
Searching for a host
From Stalin to Caligula they all align as one Behind your back
Behind your words in silent unison
From shadows cast by promises they know you'll never keep
They watch that hopeful crowd become your flock of trusting sheep

You madman on the mountaintop
Screaming for your crown
Repeating all the promises of those who've pulled us down
I'll scream above your worthless words and lead your sheep away
Through your growing storm of lies
Past their darkest day
They'll listen to me in the sun and nod agreeably
Complacent now
Believing now that I have set them free
In time I'll rearrange your words and climb a mountaintop
Lest masses learn to rule themselves and make us madmen stop


© 2000 Jim Schultz



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