L is for L’appel Du Vide, #AtoZChallenge

/ serenasinclair

I don’t remember where I learned this phrase from, but I found it fascinating that such a phrase exists. The definition from Wikipedia is this: “L’appel du vide, literally “the call of the void”, is a French phrase used to refer to intrusive thoughts, or the urge to engage in destructive behaviors during everyday life. Examples include thinking about swerving in to the opposite lane while driving, or feeling the urge to jump off a cliff edge while standing on it.”

I tried to make a poem to capture this phrase’s meaning, but I found it really difficult! Here’s my attempt:

 

L’appel Du Vide

This is it.

This, this is the moment.

The moment you look down.

You look down and see,

See an escape beckoning

From high above.

 

On the perch of a cliff

The world seems quiet.

So quiet thoughts

Sneak in on silent haunches,

Padding by common sense.

 

Look down, down,

Down into the abyss.

Imagine the fall,

Tumbling over and over,

Wind rushing by,

And this strange silence

That pervades your senses-

This moment of clarity.

9 thoughts on “L is for L’appel Du Vide, #AtoZChallenge”

  3. I didn’t know there was a word for that feeling… I guess it’s good to know I’m not alone in having moments of irrational impulses, but it’s weird and unsettling that it’s a normal part of the human experience!

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  4. You sure caught the moment of clarity.

    I’ve had those thoughts, too. Of course it would be the French to give it a name. lol

    It always happened very quickly with me. I might be driving and suddenly think, “I could just swerve into oncoming traffic” Out of nowhere, like the thought had been injected from outside my head. The same with the idea I could just step off the edge of the cliff. Not even the attraction of darkness, just a dispassionate, realization I could do that thing. Really. Right now. Quickly followed by, “Mmmm. No. I don’t think so.”

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