Gogyoshi Poem, Nr.05 — Feigning Sane

siegfried didn't pretend to be insane, the authorities just thought it best to pretend that he was, rather than listen to what he was saying, or to put an MC in front of a firing squad   ..

Thank you for that correction, Paul - in which case I'll delete Sassoon from the poem.

Squashing inspiration into confined spaces!

A great way to end this piece.

But I can’t tell if that is meant to be disdainful or real or possibly slightly hopeful. Which I like. Well done.

"But I can’t tell if that is meant to be disdainful or real or possibly slightly hopeful. Which I like. Well done."
... So I'm not sure if I should clarify ... or leave it open to interpretation.  :))   ... but I'm not disdainful.
I believe most of us have hugely more creative talent than we are able to express in some form or other, and that we learn (and are taught in our culture) to 'make do' with counting ourselves lucky if we can manage just a little 'creative output' in our 'spare time'.

Have to agree with Daisy, the last line is self deprecating yet simply humble. I like how you address your talent in conjecture to your sanity, all the while keeping your ego at bay.

The last line sprang out of a frustrating day with a long list of "have to" maintenance jobs, when what I really wanted to be doing was getting on with one of my sculptures. It also alludes to poetry, which by its nature of economy with words, tries to 'squash' a lot of meaning into a few lines.

Dear J,

I adore this write! “ Me? I pretend to be sane …  
paying bills … dressing as expected …  
… squashing inspiration into confined spaces.” the reality of this self observation applies to those of us who take ownership and just do it because we’re supposed to. Absolutely love it. Bravo. H🌷

Thank you H, and honoured by the RL again. I'm going through a phase where I realise more and more I could have gone to art-school but due to various pressures ended up being 'sensible' and became an engineer, then academic. In the year 2000, I quit my enviable job as an academic professor, and went on a wood-working course to open the door to a more expressively creative life. I didn't have the courage and conviction to have done it earlier. In that sense I guess one could say I am "squashing" creativity into my later years.

Those final two lines did it for me, Josh. It reminds me strangely of the biblical  verse and idiom, I believe, 'When in Rome. . .".

Thank you. More and more I'm realising that rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's is to find ways of giving Caesar the minimum amount of my life-energy, and to use it rather in 'creative work'. The pressure of the majority in 'Rome' though is substantial.

I can totally relate to that, Josh. I am an open-minded individual living in the southern "Bible Belt". . .

this  reminder of how elastic every part of our selves needs to be, the sustainability of these effing rubber bands

perfect.

Thank you nomoth, and for the RL. The thing is with elasticity is how to stretch oneself to accommodate an insane world without either succumbing to the madness itself along with the majority, and/or losing what might be called one's 'personal integrity' (compulsory wearing of masks in shops where I live in very rural Portugal springs to mind - backed up by €500 fines)

Sometimes I like to be mad, Josh...and why didn't I find that last line before you man? lol.
Cheers...Harry

I'm told the majority is always wrong, and only 3% of people can genuinely think out of the box; given an assumption 'the-next-new-truth' lies beyond current dogma - proved many times in the history of science, then being perceived as mad seems the only sane way forward. (Thanks for the RL)

Hell Josh...3%...that's a bit much lol. I think it was Oscar Wilde that said something like...The only thing dumber than the dumb things humans do, is the dumb praise they give themselves for the dumb things they do.
Take care man...Harry

I'm not always great at feigning sanity... but even so, my creative pursuits are seen as mere hobbies. Perhaps I should strive to be more eccentric... I wonder how mad I have to be for my inspirations to be allowed adequate space?!
Good thought provoking write.

Hi BT, thanks for commenting; glad it was thought-provoking. I'm wondering if the majority is 'ex-centric', but being in the majority then it begins to look normal, centred. I've spent quite some years trying to make creative hobbies more central in my life - I can't say it's easy - but the process has been more fulfilling than not having a go (at least, that's how I justify it to myself)

The insanity of the common daily life however ridiculous, is more acceptable to most than the alternative reality of an individual, even if it makes perfect sense  
Nice work josh 👍😀

I like the way you put that, succinct. Somehow it seems to me the creativity of the individual finds its best expression in interdependence with others, but only if those others are on the same page pursuing their creative endeavours as well. RL much appreciated too.

I often think about how absurd everything is. Sanity I guess boils down to whether we're doing harm or not I guess, so we're a bunch of people on a gradient of sanity in a totally insane society. 😅

I think that's a good summary - staying sane in a largely mad world is, I guess, the challenge of our times - maybe the challenge of every era.

There was something honest and humorous about this it literally made me laugh about paying bills.
Excellent work Josh.

Thank you Wally, and the RL. Yeah, you picked up well on the humorous element - the felt experience over many years and slowly come to terms with -- I guess looking at things humorously is one way of accepting one's life as it has been - and is - but always with a lightness that opens a view to change.