Hello PoetryVoting

Vote

Voting-Boards

Home

HomeFollowingInboxNotifications

Read

ReadLiftedFeedsHeartedHistoryMy poemsNew poem

Explore

ExploreOrbitsWordsTagsClassics
Log in
0
Stars
0
Embers
0
Alerts
0
Inbox

Vote

Voting-Boards

Home

HomeFollowingInboxNotifications

Read

ReadLiftedFeedsHeartedHistoryMy poemsNew poem

Explore

ExploreOrbitsWordsTagsClassics
Log in
0
Stars
0
Embers
0
Alerts
0
Inbox

The Heights of Madness

Life’s an upward struggle, and it makes it so much rougher

when the ladder you find yourself climbing is beset by lonely weather.

When every other rung is off doing other things,

the solitude and altitude bring to mind desolation

and the emptiness that brings.

 

No matter the genius emanating from ivory minds,

the smartest man among us often finds

that brilliance unfiltered clogs up the system,

when others must consume the lonely perfume

of conceits kept alone,

while the common thoughts stay collected

like so many sheep in a pen that’s separated

from self-same lonely thoughts,

that genius oft encounters,

left only amongst the happiness

that fills up life’s happy coffers.

 

So it goes that lofty ideals become frostbitten

by snowcapped mountains of emptiness.

Others seek the heights together only during pleasant weather,

while those who trounce through snow-packed trails

must brave the climes alone tempted only by fate,

to descend to summits more frequent

than the peaks of accomplishment.

 

Gangrenous lips cannot utter

the chilled revelations of those left above too long.

So it is left to those below,

not inferior from the altitude,

just more likely acclimated to the difficult, dull journey

of those who spare pristine slopes

for the sullied, muddied slush on the tourist trails below.

Request permission to use this poem
Written by
paul-r-mott
M / American
Published
Sep 21, 2012
Lines·Words
30·211
Permission

Request to use this poem

Tell paul-r-mott how you would like to use it. We review requests before forwarding them.

AboutBlogFAQPrivacyTermsContact
© 2009-2026 Hello Poetry/v27.0 by @eliotyork
Explore
Hello PoetryVoting
Write