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
Her eyes always had a frantic, lost look. He could never cure her eyes of that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a sense of helplessness in addressing the emotional turmoil another person experiences.
In this quote by Charles Bukowski, the speaker reflects on a deep connection with someone whose eyes reveal a constant state of unrest and confusion. The inability to alleviate this emotional pain highlights the complexities of relationships and the struggle to truly understand and heal others. It conveys a poignant message about the limits of one’s power to influence or help someone else in their personal struggles with mental health and emotional issues.
Themes
EyesHelplessnessRelationshipsEmotional TurmoilUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health awareness, this quote can illustrate the unseen struggles individuals face.
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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