The Thunder

A tribute to a boy who committed suicide while I was in high school. I didn't like him. But what I liked even less were all the fakers and vultures when he died. It is an award winner, published 1986

He walked alone that day
and the elves joined hands
they laughed at him as he walked past
and the elves began to cry
"Why go on," said he,
and the elves agreed
At home he saw his mother
too tired to care
and the elves began to clap their tiny hands
Then he saw his father
too busy to talk
and the elves began to smile - they knew
He left the table to ascend the stairs
to his lonely room
and the elves began circling
And in his room he found the gun
and put it to his head
frantically now, the elves danced, round and round
He pulled the trigger
and the thunder
scared the elves away.



It was in the news the next day
"What a pity," I heard them say
but I saw their elfin smiles.

Author's Note

http://digital-art-gallery.com/oid/3/1210x907_1657_Norwegian_Wood_Elves_2d_fantasy_elf_elves_bird_picture_image_digital_art.jpg

Reviews

[Bright Ocean Star]

KL, very powerful, sinister, and tragic. There are so many kids out there who are lost, with no one to talk to and no one to listen. I believe evil, the devil, whatever, is dancing in excitement with every depressed person looking for a way out. I'm so sorry for your classmate. It seems the more depressed some kids are, the stranger they act, and they end up putting other people off. You've written a masterful poem full of evil insight and longing. I like the use of the elves dancing in the poem. Very good poetic imagery. Thank you...:)

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. I resist any notion, personally, that suicide is an unforgivable sin. I have lost too many people I know to suicide. This boy was a very popular drug dealer. No one gave a crap about him until he was dead.

[Bright Ocean Star]

I've lost a friend, myself. I agree that suicide should not be classified as an unforgivable sin. I don't think anyone in their right mind takes their own life. And if they are not in their right mind, it isn't a sin. However, it is a horrific act on the family and those who loved him. You did a great job writing this piece, though. Truly a beautiful, though tragic, write.

[therisa]

Wish, I couldn't relate to the boy, you wrote about, KL, but I do. For the final three years of high school, I would walk, into the kitchen, and pull out a knife, trying to push it, in my chest. None, the wiser, about it. For my daemons followed me, wherever, I went, like your elves do. Except, there was no thunder, only rained tears, down my soul.

It's a loving and beautiful memorial, for this boy, you have written, KL. Only wish, it was fiction, and not reality. Thank you, for sharing this part of your past.

[Lyn Anderson]

You are welcome. As I said, he wasn't my friend, but I still felt for him, and his family, and hated the fakeness of all the people who suddenly mourned him once he was gone.

[therisa]

No, but you were truer, to the spirit of being a friend, than those, who call themselves, his friends. That what matters, KL.

[Blue]

I find it creative when you thought 'out of the box' and injected an unexpected something (elves). This poem actually sent shivers down my spine. Suicide is a disturbing theme and that boy...my heart bleeds for him. May he rest in peace.

[Lyn Anderson]

Yes. I remember him well. His parents, his brother. A very awful thing.

[Kai Rollins]

Damned elves.. Liking him or not. Death is sad. That's all I can really say.

Thunder eh...

[Brittany Zedalis]

I love this. A girl I barely knew passed away in a car crash when I was in high school, and tons of people tried to act like they cared about her so much before it happened, when in reality they judged her and/or didn't even speak to her.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you very much. And yes, that is the way it was. All the sudden, in the face of his death, he was "loved".

[Brittany Zedalis]

I hate when people act that way. It's a shame.

[Frieda P]

This cuts like a knife in so many ways. High school can be hell for so many, apparently it was for this young boy, so very sad.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Another poem full of pathos. I love the metaphor of the Elves representing the indifferent peers who scoffed him and left him isolated. A sad tale with a feel of scorn and derision KLG