Jumping.
Sometimes he wakes on the edge of a precipice.
If he were to jump it would be the end of everything.
Oh, but he dreams about jumping.
The cold air about his ears.
The voices of people he thought he knew
pushing at his back
and that one glorious second
of spreading out
...letting go.
posted by Clare Dudman at 10:17 pm
6 Comments:
Well, I hope he doesn't! He's not thinking about the screams and tears, is he?
This photo reminds me of "Mockingbird" a book by Walter Tevis. One of the characters is a robot whose only desire is to die by jumping off the Empire State Building. He is programmed against suicide so is unable to jump.
Mockingbird is a great novel - I highly recommend it. It's one of my all time favorite books which I re-read regularly. I'd quote the last paragraph of the book, but that would spoil it, so I won't, even though it is uncannily similar what you have written.
The photo is supeb and your little poem immensely moving.
Could it be an opening to some writing?
Susan: You know in some ways I think maybe the thought of the screams and the tears is what entices the jumper the most. It is the ultimate punishment or revenge.
Anne s Just put Mockingbird in my Amazon basket but I' definitely not buying any more until I've read what I've got - including the Whitemore you sent me.
Jan: Thank you - could be I guess - but I'm up to my ears at the moment so I'd better not!
A short, sharp account of death wish as liberation. Very effective.
Thank you Dick! That is very kind.
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