Murder and suicide
often come together—
often come together—
as acts, of course,
one comes
before the other.
But I think their under-thinking
is common, and sensible:
Once you devalue a life,
every
life (for you)
has an equal (neutral) pull.
has an equal (neutral) pull.
All are real,
but worthless:
but worthless:
Noises seeking silence,
Desiring peace while clinging to
their pulse's violence.
That's one thing I wish
Suicides wrote more in their letters:
“I'm tired of living,
and I hate us altogether.
Which makes me think, by the way,
I'd love the whole, really,
“I'm tired of living,
and I hate us altogether.
Which makes me think, by the way,
I'd love the whole, really,
if I loved myself today.
Kisses; sorry for the mess.
I wish the words
didn't feel so disingenuous.”
I wish the words
didn't feel so disingenuous.”
Isn't that beautiful?
It's the least selfish thing
It's the least selfish thing
about a killer's lonely
riddle: Knowing
riddle: Knowing
that
when you die,
or make us die—
everyone
dies
a
little
.
little
.
"You can debate the value of life, thus the virtue of living or the depravity of killing. But, however little value you place on that act of living, you cannot debate the impact of one's life on nearby lives: we live together, and we feel one another existing. Murderers / suicides seem to recognize this distinction well: that the impulse to live is subjective, varying from person to person and from day to day in intensity, but the act of living is objective, perceivably influencing others. When I stop eating, breathing, responding, moving—those who ate by me, breathed by me, talked to me, moved with me will experience a change. Killers know that what they do ripples into other lives, violent and irreversible—reminding us that we are all connected."
ReplyDelete– 3 November 2015
In these poems, the speaker speaks directly on children and how the only way to grow into a wise and responsible person is to make mistakes and to go through hardships at a young age. The speaker’s tone as the poem progresses becomes dismal, speaking about how the only way for children to learn is through their own experiences, and many of these experiences will be hard. The speaker finishes the poem stating how this is the only way the children will have true freedom. I, too, believe that this is one of his more universal poems, as all young need to learn from experiences in order to have their own opinions and lives. As the focus of the poem shifts from descriptions of innocent playing by the children to darker meanings behind the pain and loss that children must face in order to grow into a proper adult, the physical words of the poem also shift to the right hand column. This physical shift paired with the tone shift exemplifies the authors freedom of representation when concerning the layout, relating back to the title that includes the word “freedom.”
ReplyDeleteUm - wrong poem? This is about suicide/murder...not children and freedom (although admittedly, there is a cute little child in the collage).
DeleteAlso, there's not much of you in this post ... maybe slip him/her in there, when you move it over to "Freedom Come" ;-)
I have always viewed murder and suicide as two completely different actions, the one similarity being the end of a life. However, this poem highlights the similar feelings of pain and desperation behind both actions. Murder, a ruthless act against another person, and suicide, an act of excruciating emotional pain against yourself, are intertwined, as seen through the shape of the poem. The speaker believes that those who murder and those who commit suicide are not only seeking relief from their pain but also devaluing a human life. I think that the last line of the poem is interesting in that a person’s death, regardless of how they died, is painful because we also lose a part of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis poem conveys that taking away a life is a selfish act because death is so final and irreversible. However, a person who has suffered so much and for so long that they see suicide as the only option is not selfish. People who commit suicide often think that they are a burden to their loved ones and everyone would be better off without them. They would never do anything to intentionally hurt anyone, unlike those who commit murder. As human beings, it is difficult for us to understand why someone would end a life that is already limited. We are afraid of death because of its inevitability and uncertainty. After we die, the world continues without us, but the only thing that we can do is understand that our time is limited and attempt to make meaning of it.
I think the poem conveys the similarity between murder and suicide and how they are both selfish acts. First, in the artwork the Unfortunate Fact of Memoir points to a quote that says “Other people exist.” People are driven to do terrible things only to later devalue the entirety of their life. In existentialism, a person is the sum of all their actions up to that point, but they do not worry about the past or future. They exist in the moment and that is where the absurdity in their life comes from. The act of murdering someone devalues all of the actions that person has made up to that point because they will end up in jail and never be able to get out. That, as conveyed in the poem, is a selfish act because that person’s life comes to an abrupt end that was not expected. However, suicide is not a selfish act because, as the poem mentions, when you die, everybody else dies a little too. People that suffer for so long and think it is too difficult to love themself end their pain by committing suicide. While it may seem selfish, they are really saving others from the same suffering they have dealt with. The poem’s connection between murder and suicide is seen by the shape of the poem that seems to make a helix.
ReplyDelete"suicide is not a selfish act because, as the poem mentions, when you die, everybody else dies a little too. ... they are really saving others from the same suffering they have dealt with": What you are describing here does not sound unselfish to me. Making everyone else die a little, because you've devalued your own life, is presumptive and self-serving, not generous or considerate of others at all. And what suicide has ever "saved" others from suffering? It wrecks the hearts of parents, friends, family, everyone that person was loved by. For the rest of their lives. Suffering.
ReplyDeleteA suicide and a murder are equivalently selfish acts: that is what this poem asserts.