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 psyche has been burned and left us senseless, the world has been darker than lights-out in a closet full of hungry bats, and the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the deep emotional and existential pain experienced in life.
In this quote, Charles Bukowski captures the profound suffering that can occur in life, suggesting that the psyche has endured intense trauma, leaving one feeling numb and lost. The imagery of a dark world and the desperation to numb pain through substances like whiskey and wine conveys the struggle against overwhelming despair and the search for relief amidst chaos.
Themes
PsychePainSufferingDespairSubstanceExistential
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health, one might use this quote to illustrate the depth of emotional pain.
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.
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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.
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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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