Langston Hughes and Suicide

James Mercer Langston Hughes, born in February 1901 and from Joplin, Missouri was a bit of an all rounder being a poet, activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist.

My usual surfing the open expanse of the WWW brought me to this poignant three verser with, to some, a touchy subject for a title.

I remember a time when this just wasn’t talked about, such a cowardly and selfish act. Now-a-days though with information so widely available, this and so many other taboo topics are now just tomorrows fish and chip wrappers. Don’t get me wrong I’m not belittling any such traumatic or devastating issues.

I just feel that the innocence of the world has been lost somewhere and I wonder about when it became so sad.

But I guess I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.

 

Suicide

Ma sweet good man has

Packed his trunk an’ left.

Ma sweet good man has

Packed his trunk an’ left.

Nobody to love me:

I’m gonna kill ma self.

 

I’m gonna buy me a knife with

A blade ten inches long,

Gonna buy me a knife with

A blade ten inches long.

Shall I carve ma self or

That man that done me wrong?

 

‘Lieve I’ll jump in de river

Eighty-nine feet deep.

‘Lieve I’ll jump in de river

Eighty-nine feet deep.

Cause de river’s quiet

And a po’ po’ gal can sleep.