The Paragraph: Microcosms of Travelling Lives (episode 2)

HOMELESS CONFESSIONAL

I used people to fulfill my self-indulgent, self-abusive wants. My home is a Best Buy Box. I robbed a hot dog cart on 72nd street for lunch. I have no prospects. I betrayed anyone who ever loved me. I took advantage, and now I’m stuck with the feeling that killing myself might just be the most sensible thing to do. Camus claimed that suicide rarely comes from contemplation, but I always believed myself the exception to the rule. I climb the fire escape of a nearby building. I am on the roof. I look out. I fall and suddenly, I feel immense sympathy for the men tasked with cleaning up my entrails.