The Death Penalty for Suicide
Is suicide against the law?
And what is the penalty? Death?
All I know is I saw what I saw
And it took away my breath
As well as perhaps my dignity
But by that time there was bound to be
Trouble and my bubble burst in any case
Tell me: why did I come here in the first place?
Come to think of it I never came
Certainly not voluntarily
I am not really the one to blame
For the rupture of reality
How on earth I should come to birth
Remains a mystery to me
Yet here I am for what it is worth
Now if only fleetingly
The death penalty for suicide
A governmental answer
Strong deterrent and statement beside
No one allowed to outrun the clock's tick-tock
Let people die of cancer
Or heart disease but naturally
If that is more natural than
Being killed by one's fellow man
I think I will just have to run out the clock
Stupid people stupefy
Muddled people mystify
Suicidal people die
In my case I think that I
Must muddle through along with you
As best (tick) I (tock) can
+Steven Curtis Lance
Copyright MMVI
Full Version: The Death Penalty For Suicide
bravo dear cousin,bravo and well said, i see you have not lost your wounderful wit and sense of humour, keep well, take care greg 
Thank you, Cousin Greg, for understanding in particular that this absurd little poem of mine is not about the death penalty, and for understanding the many actual meanings of it in general.
Poetry is inexplicable. It is art made out of words placed into patterns which have meanings understood by writer and reader, but these meanings may differ widely; the reader may find meanings and meta-meanings not consciously set down by the writer, and, in any case, there are virtually infinite levels of meaning in everything anyway.
I have learned--the hard way, which is the way I learn everything and the best way to learn anything--never to explain poetry. But I hope everyone reading these words of mine, which, like life itself, are absurd, will at least understand that they have nothing whatever to do with the stupid and barbaric practice of the death penalty. I live in California, and I understand they are going to kill somebody at one minute after midnight tonight; what a perversion of poetry that is!
Poetry is best read with the unconscious mind. I am so glad you are here, dear cousin; we understand each other, and I love your poetry.
G'day and cousinly love,
+Stevie
Poetry is inexplicable. It is art made out of words placed into patterns which have meanings understood by writer and reader, but these meanings may differ widely; the reader may find meanings and meta-meanings not consciously set down by the writer, and, in any case, there are virtually infinite levels of meaning in everything anyway.
I have learned--the hard way, which is the way I learn everything and the best way to learn anything--never to explain poetry. But I hope everyone reading these words of mine, which, like life itself, are absurd, will at least understand that they have nothing whatever to do with the stupid and barbaric practice of the death penalty. I live in California, and I understand they are going to kill somebody at one minute after midnight tonight; what a perversion of poetry that is!
Poetry is best read with the unconscious mind. I am so glad you are here, dear cousin; we understand each other, and I love your poetry.
G'day and cousinly love,
+Stevie
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