Tormenting Ether

[OctopusGarden]

I scream aloud
But my fateful cries
Can't break through
Your tormenting ether
Suffocating me as
Each breath becomes
A futile hope for life

[Buh4Bee]

I take ether to mean a chemical compound that surrounds the narrator of the poem causing suffocation, not ether, as in the sky? Just want to be sure I am reading the poem with the correct meaning.

I found this to be much more complex than the simple few lines presented. The 'fateful cries' contrast beautifully with 'futile hope'. It appears that the hope to be free of this torment is not as strong a force as the source of the torment. A terribly sad oppression.

A nice thought provoking piece. I enjoyed this.

[lallison]

I felt like this was something of a primal scream filled with a generalized anxiety about life. It reminded me of the famous Munch painting.

[OctopusGarden]

I take ether to mean a chemical compound that surrounds the narrator of the poem causing suffocation, not ether, as in the sky? Just want to be sure I am reading the poem with the correct meaning.

I found this to be much more complex than the simple few lines presented. The 'fateful cries' contrast beautifully with 'futile hope'. It appears that the hope to be free of this torment is not as strong a force as the source of the torment. A terribly sad oppression.

A nice thought provoking piece. I enjoyed this.

When I think of ether I think of the supposed physical "ether" that was meant to be what fills the vacuum of space, but was later theoretically disproved. Essentially, its just something that surrounds something else. I like it because it can mean different things to different people.

[dizzydoll]

Shame, sounds like you are been suffocated to death by someone/thing. Well written.

[OctopusGarden]

Shame, sounds like you are been suffocated to death by someone/thing. Well written.


This poem is about someone suffocating his or her self. The speaker has ostracized hisself from the world because he is surrounded by things which disgust him. When living in a disgusting world, life becomes nearly pointless.

[dizzydoll]

That figures. Just shows there is always more than one way of looking at the same thing. Good job.

[Buh4Bee]

Thanks for the explanation- your definition is how I read the poem.:)