Langston Hughes
"Suicide's Note" by Langston Hughes
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.
Langston Hughes is an African-American poet best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. During this time period, it was the peak of the African-American cultural expression. By the middle of the 1930s the Harlem Renaissance began to die down mostly because of the cause of the Great Depression. I think this poem has a connection with the Great Depression because of the negativity of this poem and the many deaths that occur during the Great Depression.
"Suicide's Note" by Langston Hughes consists of three simple lines and only twelve words. When it is read, it is basically in a form of a sentence. This whole poem is made up of metaphors. Although the title of the poem is "Suicide's Note" it did not give me the feeling of sadness and depression of what the tone of a typical suicide note would be like. The tone of this poem is more of a relaxed and calm way of expressing their need to suicide.
Although this is a simple and straightforward poem, we must look beyond that and find the underlying meaning of the poem. From the tone and simplicity of the poem, it seems like he is saying how death is an escape from all the pains of life and that diving into the river would be a joyful death (like a kiss) escaping all the sadness and pain of life.
(Kaynak: google earth poetics)
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Sakin,
Serin yüzü nehrin
Bir öpücük istedi benden
(Kaynak: Atlas)
***
İNTİHAR NOTU
Sakin,
Serin yüzü ırmağın
Öpücük istedi benden.
(Kaynak: Coşkun Büktel)
