Scribblings of the Madman

By Derrick Williams

What is a Scribbling? Roget’s College Thesaurus; Gives a verb – Write Carelessly; Scratch, Scrawl.
What is a Madman? Roget’s College Thesaurus; A noun – Mad, Crazy, Insane, Rabid, Frantic, and Foolish.
Are you using the Universal “Man”?
As far as Scribblings and madman are concerned, I prefer those words to writings and crazy guy in the corner. We are all madmen (so to speak) writing carelessly in this world. We are bound by society's definition of who we are and what we do. The book is about the internal battles that we all have had or are experiencing in this existence. I choose to write my fights down on paper and not let them fester in my head.
This book contains 5 sections:Poet, Priest, Lover, Thief, and the Vagabond. A description of three sections are below.
The Poet’s Section – To be brief, if that is possible for a person of words, this section contains 10 poems that to me represent the power of poetry. They act as therapy for both the reader and the writer. The Poet which is named after that primary character expresses one of the many ways that I feel about writing. I do like to rhyme words. I do like writing when drunk, although that leads to a pocket of mushy poems written on napkins.
The most important thing to remember about my poetry is word flow. I am a writer of spoken word poetry. The imagery is important because that paints the picture in the mind of the reader and puts them in the same place as the narrator of the poem. Also, think of these poems as written not by me but rather they represent the madman in all of us. Each of us has felt this way and experienced these feelings no matter how deep we have buried them, or tried to hide them. That is what all my poems do; speak to the truth behind the truth, the part of us that we fear. I have walked in the places that we fear to tread; those places where we are all dead.
The Priest’s Section – The Priest is another of my favorite characters. At times he has been the chronicler, the old man, and a little boy. The priest allows me to examine life and avoid the pitfalls of self-delusion and self-pity. I know what I have done and am ashamed at times but like any good layman will tell you Hate the sin but love the sinner. This then is the Priests function, the grounding effect.
The Lover section – To describe this section is the easiest. I am a hopeless romantic, despite all my failures at Love. I love Love. I am still to this day in love with my sweetheart from the 7th grade. If given the opportunity, I would wine and dine her, place her upon a pedestal again, and rekindle that Love in her. The Lover in me expresses the perfect idea of Love. A love that is Never-ending, Boundless, Timeless, Eternal, and Perfect. In this section this is expressed in numerous ways at different times. The most eloquent expression for me is from Star Trek “I have been and will always be your {lover}.” Spock, says friend in the movie, this however is my reality. Watch out for surprise endings! Enjoy
The Vagabond section - A hobo, an itinerant illiterate, a man without country or home, no space upon a mantle to call his own. These are the words that I have used to describe the feelings and motivations behind this voice in my head. This character is the embodiment of my destiny which is "Loneliness is my destiny. To love many but never be loved. To know many but never be known. My heart laments, my soul repents a destiny such as this." I write as a poet. I confess as the priest. I Love and take as the lover and thief. I live as the Vagabond and that has made all the difference.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Derrick Williams
• Release date: Feb 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311425560

Derrick Williams

I was born in Victoria, Texas in the year 1971. In 1975, my Mom and I moved to Austin, Texas. I moved every year from 1984 until my graduation from high school in 1990. I entered the delayed entry program for the United States Navy in 1989, attending boot camp in Orlando Florida in June of 1990. During my 20 year career, I was stationed on 6 ships and 2 shore duty locations. I was the second in my family to serve for a career in the military.I have a Bachelors of Science from Park University in Management, and a Master of Public Administration from American Military University. I am an American political/military history buff. My favorite place in America is Chicago, Illinois. I currently live in Dallas, Texas

Book preview

Preface

Poet – 10 selections in the realm of poetry

Priest – 10 selections from the land of Daemons and Angels served with redemption

Lover – 10 selections from the tip of Cupid’s Arrow

Thief – 10 Selections from the Thief of Hearts

Vagabond – 10 Selections from the Man without a home

Proverbs - Scattered throughout this book are quotes and anecdotes written by me. I call them Proverbs; these proverbs are bits of poems that never quite gelled into an actual poem. Oftentimes, they are a line of poetry that keep running around in my mind but when I finally decide to write the poem all is a mist. I have included some of them in this collection to clean up the blank pages in the book. These bits of flotsam and jetsam are distinguishable by both typeface and font size. I hope you enjoy them.

Preface by Won Lee:

Well, these poems are not for the faint of heart. But they come pouring deep within a man's 'tortured soul'. It's good the world can get this view of desperation, isolation, and lovesickness written down with no sugar-coating, and having known Derrick for 30 years, they ring true to his surroundings and happenings. I remember seeing his poems everywhere or going to his poetry readings, but I never did get to read hardly any of it, until now. Pretty raw stuff, and we've all been there to some extent or another, but this is coming from our hero/anti-hero's perspective and history. No one can know those moments in your head, the loathing, about to throw away everything in your life, but Derrick Williams lays down his themes and patchwork of his struggles, expanding from his first book, Laments of the Madman: Messages from a Dead Man's Brainpan. You have a special place in my heart too, Derrick, and I hope you will be able to ease off a little sometimes and get through this ride. But in the meantime, here's a glimpse into the humanity and urgency of a person's experiences that cannot be caught by cameras or emails or texts.

-Won Lee

September 2013

The Poet’s Section – To be brief, if that is possible for a person of words, this section contains 10 poems that to me represent the power of poetry. They act as therapy for both the reader and the writer. The Poet which is named after that primary character expresses one of the many ways that I feel about writing. I do like to rhyme words. I do like writing when drunk, although that leads to a pocket of mushy poems written on napkins.

The most important thing to remember about my poetry is word flow. I am a writer of spoken word poetry. The imagery is important because that paints the picture in the mind of the reader and puts them in the same place as the narrator of the poem. Also, think of