Manner of Death
I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago,
it would have saved a lot of pain.
Peg Entwistle suicide note, September 18, 1932
Peg climbed Mount Lee
in a starless dark,
found herself
at the foot
of the glowing
sign
each letter singular,
big as a building
floating over
the land of dreams,.
She'd climbed
the heights
she climbed
the sign.
Why the H?
Her story lost in myth
where myth is born--
why the H,
of all her choices,
with means to ascend
behind all 9?
She was a star,
her note an apology
for unknown sin
found in
her neatly folded
sweater beneath her purse
at the foot of the letter:
the H.
She was a star--
died where a star
dome blossomed.
Nightly, they search
for answers
in deep space.
On the night of September 16, 1932, a young actress named Peg Entwistle left her uncle’s home, climbed the Santa Monicas to the Hollywood sign, climbed a maintenance ladder to the top of the letter “H,” and jumped to her death. She was 24 years old.
Peg found herself
at the foot
of the glowing
sign,
each letter singular,
big as a building
that floats over
the land of dreams
she'd climbed
the heights,
she climbed
the sign.
Why the H?
Her story lost in myth
where myth is born--
why the H,
of all her choices,
with means to ascend
behind all 9?
She was a star,
her note an apology
for unknown sin
found in
her folded sweater
at the foot of the letter:
the H.
She was a star--
died where a star
dome blossomed.
Nightly, they search
for answers
in deep space.
!935 The Griffith Park Observatory was completed just below the Hollywood sign
I posted this poem a few years ago during my part-time tenure in L.A. I hiked that steep trail in Griffith Park to where the sign is pretty breathtaking. The Griffith observatory is open to the public and is itself quite a thrill. I am reposting this now because I see Netflix is going to release the "true" story of Peg Entwhistle. I therefore changed the title.
I am afraid I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago,
it would have saved a lot of pain.
Peg Entwistle suicide note, September 18, 1932
Peg climbed Mount Lee
in a starless dark,
found herself
at the foot
of the glowing
sign
each letter singular,
big as a building
floating over
the land of dreams,.
She'd climbed
the heights
she climbed
the sign.
Why the H?
Her story lost in myth
where myth is born--
why the H,
of all her choices,
with means to ascend
behind all 9?
She was a star,
her note an apology
for unknown sin
found in
her neatly folded
sweater beneath her purse
at the foot of the letter:
the H.
She was a star--
died where a star
dome blossomed.
Nightly, they search
for answers
in deep space.
On the night of September 16, 1932, a young actress named Peg Entwistle left her uncle’s home, climbed the Santa Monicas to the Hollywood sign, climbed a maintenance ladder to the top of the letter “H,” and jumped to her death. She was 24 years old.
Peg found herself
at the foot
of the glowing
sign,
each letter singular,
big as a building
that floats over
the land of dreams
she'd climbed
the heights,
she climbed
the sign.
Why the H?
Her story lost in myth
where myth is born--
why the H,
of all her choices,
with means to ascend
behind all 9?
She was a star,
her note an apology
for unknown sin
found in
her folded sweater
at the foot of the letter:
the H.
She was a star--
died where a star
dome blossomed.
Nightly, they search
for answers
in deep space.
!935 The Griffith Park Observatory was completed just below the Hollywood sign
I posted this poem a few years ago during my part-time tenure in L.A. I hiked that steep trail in Griffith Park to where the sign is pretty breathtaking. The Griffith observatory is open to the public and is itself quite a thrill. I am reposting this now because I see Netflix is going to release the "true" story of Peg Entwhistle. I therefore changed the title.