Madness Ensues: Poetry from Behind the Bipolar Mind

By Kaitlin Hodnett

Now, I dont want you to panic or anything, but
I will be honest
You are holding in your hands
A book of poetry.

I know, I know, poetry is just so outdated.
Why waste your precious time, right?
And with all due respect to the greats (whom I do refer
To frequently and call upon in my own worksRIP, Shakespeare),
I have to agree with you.

With all of todays technology, pen and paper
Is a dying art.
And Im not afraid to admit that.
Nor am I afraid to admit that I have the gall to change that.

What this world needs right now is a poetic revival,
A great awakening of new works,
Work
That is real, raw, and authentic.

And that is exactly what I intend to give you.

Personality, heart, and soul (wait, do gingers even have one of those?)
Touching upon subjects that have been touched on before, such as death and sexuality,
But have never been touched quite like this, I assure you,
Thats it right there.
Right here.

And last but not least, dont stop

Read . . .

(PS: all praise be to Plath for inspiring me and for also suffering from bipolar disorder while attempting to undo the stigma against mental illness.)

Heres to hoping my ending turns to be happier than hers.

My only aim is that these works demonstrate what its like living from emotional extreme to emotional extreme, and most importantly, what it means
To be human.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524512224

Kaitlin Hodnett

Kaitlin Hodnett has written over a thousand poems since kindergarten (not that she would ever feel comfortable sharing her early work). She has won various writing contests, created writing websites, and been published in the LSUA Jongleur. In 2010, she wrote her first run-through for a collection of poetry. Now, after six years in the making and much revising and editing, she presents to you her first published book. All artworks are hers as well, even though she believes her art is juvenile, which is why she became a writer instead. Kaitlin lives in Alexandria, LA, with her fiancé and her two furry babies (Sylvester Belfort Stallone, a tuxedo cat, and Malakai, her ESA German shepherd rescue mutt). She’s got a novel about aliens in the making, hopefully to be released by 2017, but she also hopes to have more poetry collections published every five years.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Kaitlin Hodnett. 744784

ISBN:   Softcover   978-1-5245-1223-1

   EBook      978-1-5245-1222-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 06/24/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to anyone who

is suffering from a mental illness.

May you never have to suffer in silence again,

and may you find your voice.

Introduction:

Now, I don’t want you to panic or anything but,

I will be honest—

You ARE holding in your hands,

A book of poetry.

I know, I know, poetry is just so OUTDATED.

Why waste your precious time, right?

And with all due respect to the Greats (whom I do refer

To frequently and call upon in my own works, RIP Shakespeare)

I have to agree with you—

With all of today’s technology, pen and paper

Is a dying art.

And I’m not afraid to admit that.

Nor am I afraid to admit that I have the gall to change that.

What this world NEEDS right now is a poetic REVIVAL

A great awakening of new WORKS,

Work

That is REAL, RAW, AND AUTHENTIC,

And THAT is exactly what I intend to give you.

Personality, heart, and soul (wait, do gingers even have one of those)

Touching upon subjects that have been touched on before, such as death and sexuality,

But have never been touched quite like this I assure you,

That’s it right there,

Right here.

And last but not least, don’t stop

Reading…

(PS all praise be to Plath for inspiring me, and for also suffering from bipolar disorder while attempting to undo the stigma against mental illness)

Here’s to hoping my ending, turns to be happier than hers.

My only aim is that these works demonstrate what it’s like, living from emotional extreme to emotional extreme, and most importantly, what it means

To be human.

Contents

You Shocked?

Hardcore Word Whore

Swear to Soiree

Don’t forget

Swallowing my Pride

Plenty of Fish in the Sea

When We Said Goodbye

Reckless Abandon

Detonation

Priorities

Muted Mutilation

Reminiscent

Tell Me

Hysterics

Suffocation

Ex-Lover

Temptation

Love Makes Me Mad

The Corner of His Aspirations

To Whom It May Concern

A Whole New Caliber

A Woman’s Paranoia

Warm Fuzzies

The Flavor of a Hurricane

The Haunting

Childhood Bliss

Ginger Pickup Lines

Love the Little Things

Writer’s Block

Evenings with Evangeline

Queen of Spades

Expectations

Infiltrating Filth

To Make You Mine

Consumerism

Everlasting Summer

Waiting to Ignite

Standing In Line

Does It Look Like I Care??

Eh, too Romeo?

Summer Buzz

Closed Eyes and Little White Lies

If Only You Would Have Asked Me For Advice on Lust…

Milton Won’t Mind

Dire Wolf

Why So Coy Vermillion Vixen?

Lighthouse

Spare Me Your Criticism

Confessions of an Alcoholic’s Consumption

Gas Stations

There’s Only Two Types of Men in This World

The Verdict

I dare you to go ahead

Metaphorical Men

High

Checkmate

Roses and Thorns

I Wonder?…

Hypocrisy at it’s Finest

Russian Roulette: What It’s Like Dating A Redhead

I Fall In Love A Thousand Times A Day

Marriage

A Love Poem

Seducing Venus

Typical Beach Poem

Sealed With A Kiss

One Eyed Pirate

Pyromaniac’s Prayer

Restless

The Campaign Trail

Sleeping Beauty

Life is a Mailbox

The Lost Verse of Annabel Lee

Mexican Restaurant Chatter

Unobtainable

I’m not Perverted- Just Profound

Karma’s a Bitch

Alzheimers

Blondes

Apollo Would Be Appalled

I’m Only Just Beginning to Understand

What I Learned in College

The Ruthless Invasion of Doubt and Regret

Kate’s Gates of Hell

In Bed with Death

Departure

Once Shy, Twice Bitten

Lost

Everything I Want

it’s all in my head

I’ll cling

The Demons Pray for Palmyra

Happily Ever Rafter

Penance and Indulgences

Dante’s Raging Inferno

Tiny Toy Town

The Banquet of Banquo’s Ghost

Siren’s Song

Monday

Twenty-Five Theses

When the Gods Bathed Porphyria

Haunted

Your Bluff

Dying Glory

i’m Nobody, Nevermore

Give Me a Match

Like Sands in the Hourglass

Autumn Melody

Worst Mistake

Red Light

Coffee Shop

Explicative

Images

Imperfection

Kindle

Sexorcism

Summer’s Epitaph

Wistful Spectator

Stranded With One-Word- Responses

excerpt from A Spyder’s Kyss

Vanity

Good Note

A Thank You Is Definitely In Order:

You Shocked?

I am the taste of electricity,

I am lighting on your tongue,

Sparks on your lips,

Twenty thousand volts

Running through my

fingertips.

––––––––––––––––––––-

Hardcore Word Whore

Forget all the modest metaphors

and the self-conscious similes-

this line is stripping bare- exposed-

right down to the meaning.

Right