The narrator blames the birds. And you want to blame the birds as well. I blamed the birds for a long time. But in this story everyone is hungry, even the birds. And at this point in the story so many things have gone wrong, so many bad decisions made, that itโs a wonder anyone would want to continue reading.
Richard SikenVanity, in a fairy tale, will make you evil. Vanity in the real world will drive you nuts. Vanity makes you say things like โI deserved a better life than this.
Richard SikenLet me tell you what I do know: I am more than one thing, and not all of those things are good. The truth is complicated. Itโs two-toned, multi-vocal, bittersweet. I used to think that if I dug deep enough to discover something sad and ugly, Iโd know it was something true. Now Iโm trying to dig deeper. I didnโt want to write these pages until there were no hard feelings, no sharp ones. I do not have that luxury. I am sad and angry and I want everyone to be alive again. I want more landmarks, less landmines. I want to be grateful but Iโm having a hard time with it.
Richard SikenEverything affects my poetry, every day something happens that changes me forever. Iโm susceptible and plastic, thin-skinned and moody.
Richard Siken