"Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so. After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns, we ourselves flash and yearn."
Berryman demonstrates Henry's self-loathing through a self-critical narrative. Henry is constantly correcting himself, or other versions of himself are correcting him constantly. Even here Henry admonishes his opening statement with a classic "should," indicating he's operating from a place of judgement. Rather than accept the feeling of boredom, he's convinced himself that he's morally wrong to feel that way.
"These Songs are not meant to be understood, you understand. They are only meant to terrify & comfort."
Berryman is an involved author, frequently interrupting the narrative, if such an interjection could be considered an interruption in this chaotic text. In this excerpt, after a particularly dark confession on Henry's part, Berryman interjects a reminder that he makes no promises of coherence.
"Two daiquiris
withdrew into a corner of a gorgeous room
and one told the other a lie."
Henry resents the insincerity he observes in people around him. In this quotation the two daiquiris represent people at a highbrow social gathering. The people are indistinguishable from their symbols of conformity -- the drinks, -- despite the fact that this vignette relies upon a type of scene of a couple flirting in the corner at a party. Who those particular people are is inconsequential to Henry. Interestingly he also reveals in this quotation that he views flirting as an act of deception.
“…Henry is tired of winter,
& haircuts, & a squeamish comfy ruin-prone proud national
mind, & Spring (in the city so called)
Henry likes Fall.
Hé would be prepared to líve in a world of Fáll
for ever, impenitent Henry.
But the snows and summers grieve and dream;These fierce & airy occupations, and love,
raved away so many of Henry’s years
it is a wonder that, with in each hand
one of his own mad books and all,
ancient fires for eyes, his head full
& his heart full, he's making ready to move on.”
Here Henry describes the ideas which are pushing him further into a suicidal mood. He's become bored of experiences and, due to regret for his past decisions, feels doubtful about the meaningfulness or pleasure of the future. What he neglects to recognize in this intense despair is that he's referring to himself in the third person. If Henry seriously wanted to ensure future satisfaction and meaningfulness, he would need to admit his unhealth by recognizing the abnormality of addressing oneself in the third person. He's indulging unhealthy habits and forgetting about them because of the resulting negative emotions.
