Night And The Madman (A Mad Dream)

I told the night, ‘I am mad’,  
and The Night replied, ‘Nay, you are not,  
for you wonder of it and are not quite sure’.  

‘But I am certain’, I replied,  
‘Nay, you are not, for you incessantly look back  
to remenisce, not forward to uncharted steps’.  
 
‘But I am like you, O Night, for my Heaven  
and Hell are the same at once’.  
‘Nay, you are not like me’, said The Night,  
‘For you fear Heaven and are too comfortable  
in Hell’.  
 
‘But I am boundless like you, O Night’.  
‘Nay, you are not, for your world is bounded  
by what you believe, and such things are few’.  
 
‘I am brave as you, O Night’.  
‘Nay, you are not, for you have yet to face your  
own monster-self and be at peace and acceptance  
of it’.  
 
‘But I love all things as you’.  
‘Nay, you do not for you only love that which casts  
a shadow, and the many things which do not, you  
do not love’.  
 
‘But, as you, O Night, I seek only to love that which  
will complete me’.  
‘Nay, you do not, for you fail to realize that you are  
already complete as I, Night, need no confirmation  
of myself’.  
 
Nay, I am not as mad as The Night  
I fear uncertainty  
I fear many things, Love most of all;  
its giving and taking,  
its pouring of salt on wounds,  
its harsh reflection of self.  
Nay, I am not mad like The Night  
     
                  .....  
 
248 words, 112 unique  
      
       #KhalilGibran