I keep a horribly depressed poet in my cellar. This is startling for friends when they come over for dinner parties. They can hear him weeping from time to time beneath the dinning room floor. I have to explain carefully why I keep him there. I tell them that there is utility to keeping a depressed artist, and that they should get one too. For example, I tell them, if I am having a particularly good day and need to adjust my mood, I go down with a candle and listen to a poem. Sure, he complains a lot. Mostly about how dark the cellar is, dark just like his soul. But the whole performance usually does it for me, and I’m fixed, back in a so-so mood instead of a stellar one. It’s important, I tell them, to take all things in moderation, including happiness. Usually a few of my friends will find the idea disgusting, but there is always one that stops me on their way out and asks quietly so the others cannot hear: Where can I get one?
Find an Outlet
March 14, 2011
Brilliant! Got to keep that happiness crap in check, it’s not normal and your creativity will suffer.
I think I may have found the perfect employment. Are tissues and aspirin provided?
somethingnewplease
March 15, 2011
Tissues, aspirin, and cold darkness. Maybe I can spare an occasional bottle of wine or liquor, to really get the wailing and self agony going.
Find an Outlet
March 15, 2011
I was going to ask for wine but didn’t want to appear greedy, because it should be enough to have your gloom appreciated without wanting special perks.
jfn2nd
March 15, 2011
I think you get a good tax break for housing depressed poets…