Stranger's Prescriptions

Stranger's Prescriptions

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Lunatic meets Madman (a collaborative poem)

The Stranger meets Odel Asseille in a collaborative piece.

The Stranger's avatar
Odel Asseille's avatar
The Stranger and Odel Asseille
Jun 11, 2026
Cross-posted by Stranger's Prescriptions
"Too much for some. Not enough for others. A conversation between a Lunatic and a Madman exploring the invisible cages we inherit and what it means to live beyond them."
- Odel Asseille

Insanity. Looks far away. Strange, really.

“Am I crazy?” is a question most of us ask ourselves at some point in life. But some of us do actually receive this label and get the “insane” stamp.

This poem, Odel Asseille and The Stranger will take you on a crazy journey into the world of insanity where a lunatic meets a madman.

Painting by ©Original Worlds (Ira Robinson), portraying Dr. Lunatic Stranger

Dr. Lunatic: The Stranger

Mr. Madman: Odel Asseille

Lunatic meets Madman (a poem)

Dr. Lunatic

The ground of the sky
Is where I land
I swim in the desert
Crossing oceans of sand
Accompanying my lost mind
Walking hand in hand


To meet the madman
Who's always sad
Lighten up, my dear
You look really bad
Spill what's in your mind —
Or at least, the one you had.


Mr. Madman

Sad? Me?
Not really.
Maybe a little.

But I am mad!

Ce monde me rend fou.
Il me jette dans des cages
et me blâme
de m’y retrouver.


We are never enough.

Too much
for those who fear us.

Not enough
for those who ignore us.

Too young
to be taken seriously.

Too old
to be forgiven.

Isn’t this crazy for you?
Mr. Lunatic?


Dr. Lunatic

Okay, let me get real now —
I don't want to swim
around the rhymes
Won't keep the frames, the structures;
A lunatic follows no culture.

Getting back to you —

You are sad?
No, you're not.
For that, you need to feel,
Or get a tick in your rusty heart.


You are mad?
Obvious from the fact
That just now your tongue
Wore another "fancy" suit —

Je ne sais pas
Ce que ça veut dire.
Mais je peux sentir
Je n'ai pas une tête
Cette robe est très inconfortable!
Inconfortable,
Car elle n'est pas pour les instables.

Waaaoh —

Getting this one off
Made me feel the lightness
In the chest of my brain.

How do you keep this charade of madness?
How do you keep wearing
Those itchy formal, fancy suits?
But yet again,
You don't feel anything of the sort!


Mr. Madman

I feel,
for I live like everyone else,
But a fool obeys no structure,
I learn the rules
to live by my own rules,

I dare to step out
the common cage
My thoughts, children of my madness,
My actions obey no sadness.


I feel everything,
Yet I am nothing,
not special at all,
what seems fancy,
is pure simplicity.
There for everyone
And for no one.

La vida es locura,
lleva las soluciones
únicamente a los perdidos,
las bendiciones
a los suficientemente desgraciados,
las delicias
a los malditos
que no temen llevar
Las cosas prohibidas.


Dr. Lunatic

Tienes toda la razón.
El mundo no nos permitirá
ningún rincón vacío.
Somos los perdidos,
Los malditos y desgraciados.

Todas las viviendas están prohibidas,
Además, los ojos no dejan de juzgar.
Sí, todo esto es una locura.
Mi amigo, Loco.


But to be honest, Madman,
I do, in fact, enjoy everything
About this inverted world —

The small details that don't exist.

I have no age.

My lunacy is not measurable,
Beyond any name —
Never will it be tamed.

That's the stark difference
Between the madman
And the lunatic —
Guided by the moon,
Needing no compass,
And surely no other man.


I give you back your voice –
So cough once, cough twice.
Or may you forever
Hold the pact of silence;

But you can't;
I know that for a fact.


Mr. Madman

For we are part of this world
Not enjoying life
Is like being dead
And dead, we no are.

Abnormal,
Immoral,

For some,
But truly alive.

My madness,
My lifestyle,

Key to happiness,
Laugh, even to my sadness

And when the world laughs at me,
At you,
At us,

Lunacy and Madness laugh at them,

As the man said:
“Vous vous moquez de moi,
Parce que je ne suis pas comme vous.
Moi, je me moque de vous,
Car vous êtes tous pareils.”


Dr. Lunatic & Mr. Madman


THE END

© Odel Asseille

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Writing is not what I do — it is what I chose over everything else. It is not a hobby, but rather a choice I make every day — to write instead, to stay here, to keep going. If these words have been worth your time, perhaps they are worth a quiet coffee too. Every contribution is not just support — it is permission for the next poem to exist.

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* Other collaborative poems with themes of madness, craziness, or insanity

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The Portal of Insanity (a collaborative poem)

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When two voices realized they both live with bipolar disorder, a poem was born. It explores the blurry line —the fragile balance between sanity and insanity—the boundary that, when crossed, exacts a high price.

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A guest post by
Odel Asseille
I write reflections, essays, and poems that help people better understand themselves and the lives they are living. Author of The Mirror Room | Exploring identity, relationships, and human behavior.
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