Dreams of Suicide

BY: William Meredith
I
I reach for the awkward shotgun not to disarm
You, but to feel the metal horn,
Furred with the downy membrane of dream.
More surely than the unicorn
You are the mythical beast

This passage consumes the reader with thoughts of suicide. It complete transform the reader’s mindset to the mindset of the writer. Meredith speaks for three different writers you have committed suicide throughout the poem. In the specific passage the speaker dreams of being Ernest Hemmingway, who killed himself with a shotgun. The speaker grabs the “metal horn” of the shotgun and then turns to a beast once died to symbolize the unique talent that Hemmingway possess, “More surely than the unicorn/ you are the mythical beast.” This passage’s embodies the poems ideas of tragic ending for an array of talented authors.

William Meredith is a strong poet. He embodies the greats before his time and also adds his own spin on everything he creates. In “Dreams of Suicide,” Meredith takes three poems and compiles them into one by their common theme of, suicides of writers. Being able to dedicate a poem in the memory of three writers who have committed suicide is something amazing. It takes great skill and his ability for all seriousness shines through. By writing this poem Meredith is not only honoring three great writers but also drawing awareness to suicide. The technique of dedicating a writing piece to a cause is something I want to apprentice myself to.