Confused and Bemused

I woke up or so I thought

For I might still have been asleep

Whether up or down I couldn’t tell

So I neither walked nor ‘creep’

I neither stayed nor moved

Transfixed on my bed betwixt

Between deep sleep and wide awake

I was surely in a fix

How long there I couldn’t tell

Probably exactly an hour or two

It was less than one and more than two

Before my reverie was through

Up I looked to see what was down

And outside to view what was in

Next I laughed till I almost cried

Be serious; I am not joking

The clouds sailed on the ocean blue

The waves high up in the sky

Fish were birds; the birds were fish

And this reality I couldn’t deny

I knew I was not sleeping

For after all, I knew

Were I asleep I would not know

That false could never be true

Awake in a dream you would argue

And then laugh and go your way

Smart psychiatrist you think you are

But you’ll have yours some day

What a fool you really are

But you think that you are smart

You are no smarter than the next fool

So keep that deep within your heart

You and I live in an upside down world

Where abnormal is the new norm

What you and I knew to be wrong

Is now packaged as the more informed

  

Two of the same can cohabit

It’s neither here nor there

It’s just a matter of preference

And once the two really care

Absolutes have diminished

And some believe there are none

And what used to be a tragedy

Is now generating fun

Some say up side down yes

But this time right side up

They awoke or so they thought

But ours is a bitter cup

But now there is preferred taste

And the awful has become sweet

A confused and bemused mind

Knows neither victory nor defeat

Zombies too come awake

But they are neither here nor there

They too know not where they are

Nor from whence they did appear

Whether up or down they cannot tell

Themselves they cannot feel

But they are feared among the wisest of men

And those who believe they are real

Do you still feel that I am weird?

And you are different from me?

I’ll tell you this; better mark my word

And you’ll see just what I see

This world is steep in follow pattern

Sense is not critical you see

Once an important person says it

Prominent it will be

Soon the world absorbs it

The exception is just a few

And what we once held as acceptable

Is now contrary to our view

Before I should conclude this, though

To that state I shall return

Not that I had left you would concur

Nothing appears real or firm

I woke up or so I thought

For I might still have been asleep

Whether up or down I couldn’t tell

So I did neither walk nor creep

I couldn’t walk; no confidence had I

I didn’t creep for fear of the unknown

My narrow confines was a tiny bed

That was the limit of my zone

Up I looked to see what was down

To me they were one and the same

And so I laughed until I cried

For I was one among the insane

The world around is a hospital

Full of the mentally deranged

So smart we feel in our condition

That we hail it as paradigm change

I know I have mashed some corns

But my toes also feel the rub

If you feel the offense as much as I do

Then welcome to the club

Stewart Russell © 2016