I can never drive my car over a bridge without thinking of suicide. I can never look at a lake or an ocean without thinking of suicide.
Charles BukowskiRead
The apartment was built at the edge of a high cliff so that when you looked out the back window it seemed as if you were twelve floors up instead of four. It was very much like living on the edge of the world - a last resting place before the final big drop.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the perspective of height and existence, emphasizing both the beauty and danger of life.
In this quote, Charles Bukowski evokes a vivid image of living on the edge, both literally and metaphorically. The description of an apartment on a cliff serves as a powerful metaphor for life itself, where the heights represent aspirations, beauty, and the thrill of living, while the drop signifies the inevitable end we all face. It suggests a duality in existence, highlighting how one's perspective can transform ordinary experiences into extraordinary ones, emphasizing the fleeting nature of life.
Themes
LifePerspectiveDeathExistenceBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about taking risks, one might reference this quote to illustrate the beauty of living boldly.
More from Charles Bukowski
All quotes →when I am feeling low all i have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns
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The masses are always wrong...Wisdom is doing everything the crowd does not do. All you do is reverse the totality of their learning and you have the heaven they're looking for.
Charles BukowskiRead
I'm going to open another vottle. not a vottle, but a bottle. you open it and I'll drink it. and you try to write as much as I did without falling off of your chair.
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To experience real agony is something hard to write about, impossible to understand while it grips you; you're frightened out of your wits, can’t sit still, move, or even go decently insane.
Charles BukowskiRead
I lapsed into my pathetic cut-off period. Often with humans, both good and bad, my senses simply shut off, they get tired, I give up. I am polite. I nod. I pretend to understand because I don’t want anybody to be hurt. That is the one weakness that has lead me into the most trouble. Trying to be kind to others I often get my soul shredded into a kind of spiritual pasta. No matter. My brain shuts off. I listen. I respond. And they are too dumb to know that I am not there.
Charles BukowskiRead
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