<stern's "when i have reached the point of suffocation"> 2002-11-24.7:59 p.m. When I Have Reached the Point of Suffocation Gerald Stern When I have reached the point of suffocation, then I go back to the railroad ties and the mound of refuse. Then I can have sorrow and repentance, I can relax in the broken glass and the old pile of chair legs; I am brought back to my senses and soothed a little. It is really the only place I can go for relief. The streets, the houses, the institutions, and the voices that occupy them, are too hard and ugly for any happiness and the big woods outside too full of its own death--- I go to the stone wall, and the dirty ashes, and the old shoes, and the daisies. It takes years to learn how to look at the destruction of beautiful things; to learn how to leave the place of oppression; and how to make your own regeneration out of nothing. back /& forth /& frosting names are often sad