A Poem from 2012, Dedicated to Aaron Swartz

Here’s a poem I wrote back in 2012 after Aaron Swartz’s suicide.  Still saddens me…

In a Country Where Geniuses Kill Themselves

for Aaron Swartz

You realize your understanding
varies wildly from the actual
and what you call your new
enlightenment makes even
your radical facebook friends
confident you’re about to im-
plode and yes the more you
try to convince people your
screws are secure the looser
they get and before long you
notice everyone you took for
a prophet wound up a sad news
blip about a noose or a knife
or a case of poison and you
see why people avoid the truth
with good reason

2 Comments

  1. This is touching.

    That last line packs a wallop.

    Why did you choose to split the word implode between two lines?

    • Taylor Collier

      July 18, 2016 at 6:42 pm

      Thanks for the kind words. At the time I chose to cut up the word “implode” for a number of reasons, but mostly to create just a tick of suspense across the line break as to which word comes next. It also mirrors the “screws loose” sentiment of the poem, and it heightens the accent on the “im” part of the word since we often accentuate the PLODE part. Great question…hopefully my answer isn’t complete gibberish 🙂

      Thanks for reading!

      -Taylor

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