Tales of Paraphrenia: A Collection of Poems

By b. levy

There are many kinds of madness. Some known and some unknown. Some seen and some unseen. Some cured and some not curable. All beings who claim to be human are born in moments of madness; not just in mayhem, but in the mundane, in the everyday, in this moment.

Look in any direction, the evidence is abundant.

So, the questions become how do our minds and hearts respond? How do our moral codes adjust? Do we have a moral code? How much do we contribute to the propagation of madness? How much do we conscientiously reject it in our daily lives?

These are some of the themes and dreams explored within the spine of this book. As a fellow sufferer, I hope, in my own feeble way, to shed some light where there is darkness; or, at least, create a meaningful dialogue of the soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524603113

b. levy

Born and raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Now resides in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with his beloved wife of 33 years, Sherylle Hochman, and beloved cat of 12 years, Zimmy. Graduate of Brooklyn College. Spent many years living in a variety of places with a variety of people in this country and the one to the north. Co-published the now obscure and infamous Grinning Idiot. A literary quarterly that produced a gaggle of rag and bone-shop issues of rebellious literariness over the span of two years early in the dark Reagan 80s. Some of those who were kind enough to contribute previously unpublished material were: William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, John Clellon Holmes, Harvey Pekar, Crad Kilodney, Raymond Kennedy, and Richard Grayson to name a few. Published some ragged essays and jagged verse in now defunct independent publications. Partnered in a salubrious songwriting team that produced a bevy of forgettable songs, including three that appeared on the soundtracks of equally forgettable movies. Having retired from the position of Grant Writer at the New York City Housing Authority in 2013, there is much time to reflect and regret and rejoice. Both parents are deceased.

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2016 b. levy. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 04/11/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-0290-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-0289-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-0311-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016905776

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

About the cover picture

A deceit of lapwings

Hungry Pigeons

Ballad of Donald Rumsfeld

Song of the Common Loon

A Sonnet for Cynics

Sphere of Influence

Vlad the Inhaler

A knot of toads

An Accumulation of Things

Shooting Monks in Burma

Beating Muslims in Myanmar

Approval

Dream Noir

A Recipe for Occupation

Gun to the Head

A murmuration of starlings

My Bob Dylan Dream

Prosperity

To Be Black is a Crime in America

The Parasites of Ayn Rand

Press Release

Skimming Aluminum Lake

American Haiku

The Economy of the World Rests on My Shoulders and My Shoulders Rest on You

Scar Tissue

A Dream of Jazz

A Rage of Delusion

An audience of squid

Anniversary Vow

Dark Days Ahead

The End of a Long Romance

Invisible Lives

Remote Emotion

The Habit of Forgetting

A Map of Possibilities

An unkindness of ravens

As If

House of Inertia

The Unveiling

Blues for Rafaa

Reading the Names of the Dead

What Might Have Been

A labor of moles

The Budget Is a Moral Document

White Shoes

Voluntary Confinement

Veterans’ Day

A Random Thought

Birthday

Two Brothers

Desire is What Lies Behind

Dénouement

About the author

To all my friends

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About the cover picture

Hist Sci Med. 2010 Apr-Jun;44(2):121-9.

The physician exhibits fantasy, in addition to cleansing the drug of madness

Vons, J.

Centre d’Etudes Supérieures de la Renaissance, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, UMR 6576 du CNRS. 8, sentier des Patys, 37210 Rochecorbon.

The Musée Rolin of Autun, Burgundy (France) owns an interesting and rather large picture, entitled Le médecin guarissant phantassie, purgeant aussi par drogues la folie (The physician exhibits fantasy, in addition to cleansing the drug of madness); it was originally painted on wood and was used as a shop-sign at the Cosseret Pharmacy, at 20 Grand Rue Chauchien, Autun, from the beginning of the XVIIth century to 1897.

A naive description, the same that might have been by the clients, gives more fright than trust in the treatments on display. In the background, before rows of bottles, a medical action that looks like a purge is in progress. In the foreground a torture scene must be interpreted. The juxtaposition and alteration of traditional medical elements tend to spread confusion in the spectator’s mind and introduce him into a world where reality is disturbed.

This communication aims at showing that this picture about evacuation of madness has a medical meaning, showing that this icon of the evacuation