Howard Camner, The Madman of Mime (poem)

Pacing the floor of the raging sea the Madman of Mime waits for a lady who will never arrive gambling on the hereafter he lets this life slip away without a second thought Playing the fool for no reward the Madman of Mime makes it up as he goes along He writes himself love letters that he never reads and gets his gold from stolen fables Washing his hands of the whole affair the Madman of Mime tries to forget how he lost his mind On a sunken ship he marks a deck and cheats his way through solitaire It's a critical struggle with a cynical view and it's done with a flick of the wrist But the Madman of Mime knows not to cry you can't carry a torch underwater