The Shouts Of The Maddening Crowd Poem by RIC BASTASA

on this day i hear them
the maddening crowd shouting inside
an enclosure of the town
betting on who wins this time
the winner that takes it all
and the loser
who cries alone

it is the same crowd who tells you who you must be
what to do
what to be
to be just like one of them in greed and gamble
they have a thousand eyes and their mouths speak to you
in unison

dare not run against their wishes
lest you be an outcast with all you possess stripped away from you
your name your past and if you stay a little longer

your future

today, it is all over, i am planning my escape
to the place of my silence

where i can speak and hear what i am speaking
where i can be brave where at last i can just be myself

there i am an island that even you cannot touch