For me, the narrator is commenting on the hundreds of absurd, frustrating, ignorant, and hateful "small things" that happen everyday. If they were infrequent or only happened one at a time... The "small things" when taken individually might only be minor annoyances that one could easily brush off... But as he says; "all these small things they gather around me." They, the small things, can pile up in ones mind... at time overwhelming.
He asks, "has the world gone mad, or is it me", Because you can't articulate the negative feeling that is the product of the sum of these "small things." "The words kaleidoscope inside my head."
When you kvetch about any one small thing it comes out with the sum force of ALL... you come off as one big over-reaction. If you try to kvetch about the sum total, you can't... They are small disparate things... you'd sound like a rambling mad person. It makes you begin to doubt your ability to reason. One small thing happens... the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. You end up asking yourself... "has the world gone mad? Or, is it me?"
I realize I'm mixing my genres but It's like Depeche Mode sang long ago...
"Everything counts... in large amounts"
[Yes Ben, the world has gone mad. It is not you!]
For me, the narrator is commenting on the hundreds of absurd, frustrating, ignorant, and hateful "small things" that happen everyday. If they were infrequent or only happened one at a time... The "small things" when taken individually might only be minor annoyances that one could easily brush off... But as he says; "all these small things they gather around me." They, the small things, can pile up in ones mind... at time overwhelming.
He asks, "has the world gone mad, or is it me", Because you can't articulate the negative feeling that is the product of the sum of these "small things." "The words kaleidoscope inside my head."
When you kvetch about any one small thing it comes out with the sum force of ALL... you come off as one big over-reaction. If you try to kvetch about the sum total, you can't... They are small disparate things... you'd sound like a rambling mad person. It makes you begin to doubt your ability to reason. One small thing happens... the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. You end up asking yourself... "has the world gone mad? Or, is it me?"
I realize I'm mixing my genres but It's like Depeche Mode sang long ago... "Everything counts... in large amounts"