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
I could scream down 90 mountains to less than dust if only one living human had eyes in the head and heart in the body, but there is no chance, my god, no chance. rat with rat dog with dog hog with hog, play the piano drunk listen to the drunk piano, realize the myth of mercy stand still as even a child's voice snarls and we have not been fooled, it was only that we wanted to believe.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep sense of despair over human indifference and the futile nature of hope in the face of universal suffering.
In this quote, Charles Bukowski reflects on the human condition, illustrating a profound disappointment with humanity's inability to recognize and address its own shortcomings. He suggests that despite the overwhelming desire for connection and understanding, the reality is that many people remain oblivious or indifferent to the pain around them. The vivid imagery reveals both a yearning for empathy and a recognition of the disillusionment that comes when that yearning is met with silence and apathy.
Themes
DespairHumanityIndifferenceConnectionEmpathySuffering
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about social issues and the need for compassion in society.
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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