King Lear, How Foolish Had You Been! How Mad Had You Been! Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

King Lear,
King Lear,
How mad had you been,
How much foolish
And old
That wisdom left you behind,
Foolishness dwelt upon,
Hung it heavy,
Lurked around
To make you say
And question,
How much do you love me,
How close are you,
How loyal to me?

A very, very foolish question indeed
Asked madly,
Madly and foolishly
As old age retarded the brain
That works, works reasonably,
Responds to
Which but Cordelia,
Poor Cordelia confessed it
In saying,
Confessed and accepted the bitter truth
In going to extremes
By harping upon it.

But Lear,
Lear was blind, blind to
Logic and reasoning,
Critical faculty
Which discerns it
In asking, asking the question,
How do you love me
Abandoning your husband
Which none would have asked
Barring him?