Crazy
You don’t have to hear voices,
hallucinate, or be clawed by unrelenting fear.
You don’t have to hole up in a belltower
peering down through a sniper’s scope
or devise elaborate schemes
to overthrow the government.
You don’t have to talk to yourself,
steal things you don’t need
or drink yourself down to darkness.
You just have to ask a question
no one wants asked, walk on the grass,
take a path not shown on the map.
No need to break down in the canned
fruits aisle with everyone watching.
Just stop smiling when you’re not happy
or stop praying when God quits answering.
Why bother with multiple personalities
or schizophrenia when you could just get angry
when the gears and talons of the powerful
cut the small and meek?
Don’t meddle with depression:
just be sad when you’re lonely,
cry when you need it,
laugh when things are funny.
Just be gay or black
when the world demands straight
and white, just be woman and strong
when the world wants girl and weak,
just be poor and outraged
when the world wants hands
for the assembly line.
Forget the paranoia. Far more effective
to be unafraid. Ignore the terror alerts,
the killer bees, the bird flu, the killer
storm. Stop looking over your shoulder,
stop caring what they hear at the other
end of the wire, stop worrying if you’ll
be fired or if you’re sexy enough,
or smart enough, or trendy. That’s enough
right there, stop worrying,
or really, just try making
the slightest bit of sense
and watch. They have a term
for what you are already, a webpage
and a self-help book. They’re praying
for you, and know the five step plan
by heart. They looked it up,
they’re ready to tell you,
the reason you want to sing
when you have a song,
there’s a pill for that, and hours
on the couch, pouring out your
story to a friend-for-hire
whose story you will never hear.
If you want to be crazy,
no need to pile up bodies
in the basement or drink
the spiked kool-aid.
Just refuse the money,
visit Africa, find the bright
line you need to walk
and walk it, unashamed,
clumsy, but head held high.