The death we outgrew

The Death We Outgrew

Days after Sylvia Plath’s suicide, friend and fellow poet, Anne Sexton, wrote “Sylvia’s Death” addressing their shared struggles with depression and yearning for death. Anne Sexton would die by suicide herself 11 years later. Quoting the poem:

 

“Thief --

how did you crawl into,

crawl down alone

into the death I wanted so badly and for so long,

the death we said we both outgrew,

the one we wore on our skinny breasts,

the one we talked of so often each time

we downed three extra dry martinis in Boston,

the death that talked of analysts and cures,

the death that talked like brides with plots,

the death we drank to,

the motives and the quiet deed?”

Brady Smith - (Don't be embarrassed by) Your Trouble with Living
  1. But At Least I Exist
  2. It’s Helpful, It’s Important, It’s Essential
  3. Allen
  4. Jazzmyn
  5. Corry
  6. Ethan
  7. Harper
  8. This isn’t Timely or Trendy
  9. Keep Out of the Soil
  10. The Death We Outgrew
  11. I Can Hardly Stand
  12. Guess I’ll Just Keep Moving
  13. Things I Thought Were Easy
  14. Portrait of Virginia Woolf
  15. The Profound Void of an Empty Stomach
  16. Things Best Forgotten
  17. Better Sons
  18. To Mark Where You’ve Been and Where You’re Going
  19. Resources