Suicides Notes
Langston Hughes
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.
The poem is only three lines, yet it gives such a strong impact. Suicide is usually thought of as a horrible taboo that is to be seen with great shame. However, this poem really made suicide into something much more than evading life by throwing it in the trash. A kiss in the calm cool face of river, with these words, suicide is turned into something sacred and beautiful. Suicide is not seen as cold death, but rather a sweet kiss.
One view point to see this poem is to look at suicide as a decision and action that is to be respected. Marcus Aurelius once said, everything in the world is good and in season. In other words, every action and event that occurs in our life is good for us and on time, so we should not be angry or sad for even the most unfortunate events. Therefore, suicide itself could be a decision that is good and on time, and should be respected. However, I don’t really know how it’s going to help the high suicide rate in Korea, because I’m sure suicide is going to occur even more frequently if the action is seen to be as respected.
On the other hand, seeing that the river asked the speaker for a kiss, it can be seen that people who commit suicide make the decision due to outside forces rather than an internal reason and commitment. The poem could be criticizing that we should not blame the people who commit suicide, but rather the society, or the river that forces them to kiss the blissful lips of death.
Suicide note
Sungwoo Bae
The white
thin blanket of clouds
Promised to take me on a glide
Homicide note
Sungwoo Bae
The Red
Bright rays of the sun
Glanced on my eyes
