Richard Brautigan was a
writer
& a poet who wrote whimsy
Mixed with wistfulness.
To read him you would
Never suspect that he lived
A lonely & sad life,
Haunted by childhood demons
That he couldn't shake.
Best known for his novel
Trout Fishing In America,
Which had nothing to do
With trout fishing—
Which was a passion of his—
He found his popularity dwindling
Here in America as it continued
To blossom in Japan.
One day or evening,
He put a .44 to his head
In his Bolinas, California home
& pulled the trigger.
His body wasn't discovered for some time.
It was an autumn month.
