Posted by Atticus on August 28, 2004, at 8:33:59
In reply to Anger, posted by Scott in Vermont on August 27, 2004, at 23:03:35
Hi Scott,
This piece, with its gorgeous, sprinting intensity and direct but elegant language, really cuts through the bullsh** and to the bone. That feeling of wanting to reach back in time and yank the person I once was out of the past and into myself is what really underlies all my poems set in my teens and early twenties. I was 25 when my illness really sucker-punched me, laid me flat, and destroyed my marriage, and I want the 24-year-old version of me back so badly I can taste it. But as you note, he's ephemeral, out of reach, racing around Manhattan, cocky as hell. Best I can do is capture snapshots of him in poems. This is by far the best piece you've written. I'm sorry I haven't responded to your earlier work, but even as someone who survived a suicide attempt earlier this year, I don't have any special insights into what made me finally open my wrist. Please keep writing. It helps me a lot. I'm not going to preach at you about what a fu**ing mess a real suicide attempt is like. Let's just exchange poems and talk, if you're up for that. Atticus
poster:Atticus
thread:383202
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20040828/msgs/383261.html