Poem: The Mad Poet by Ernest O'Ferrall

"I am the sun!" the poet yelled,
   And danced upon the strand.
"I am the sun!" He tightly held
   Some money in his hand;
"I gild the clouds with good red gold
   Each evening when I sink!
'Tis better far, so I am told,
   Than spending it on drink!"

"I am the moon!" he shouted then,
   And leaped with joy insane.
"I spill my silver freely when
   I've earned it with my brain;
It floats on water easily
   And winks up at the stars;
I'll rather drop it in the sea
   Than in the private bars!"

"Observe me gild the clouds!" (He cast
   A gold coin at the blue.)
"Here's moonlight!" (And a shilling passed
   And fell the sea into.)
"That's all I've got," the madman said;
   "Now, honest people, mark!
You'd better all go home to bed
   The whole world now is dark!"

First published in The Bulletin, 28 April 1910