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
your letters got sadder. your lovers betrayed you. kid, I wrote back, all lovers betray. it didn't help. you said you had a crying bench and it was by a bridge and the bridge was over the river and you sat on the crying bench every night and wept for the lovers who had hurt and forgotten you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the pain of heartbreak and the universal experience of betrayal in love.
In this quote, Charles Bukowski captures the deep sorrow and loneliness that comes from experiencing betrayal in romantic relationships. He acknowledges the sender's pain while conveying that such betrayals are a common part of life, highlighting the emotional landscape of love, loss, and the need for a space to grieve these experiences.
Themes
LoveBetrayalHeartbreakSorrowEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a discussion about the trials of love during a relationship seminar.
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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.
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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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