Jimmy’s Homecoming

My name is Jimmy and you better not wear it out
In this town I’ve got a lot of clout
Take heed and learn to pay respect
I’m your king and I’ve come to collect

As I wander along the street
Like a desperation murmur of a heartbeat
There’s one thing experience has shown
At the top you’re all alone

No one’s coming to save anyone
That’s the way my life has always run
It’s so easy to fall from the top you see
This life like dream ain’t for me

My only friend has deserted me
I’ve nowhere else I need to be
It’s their choice then oh well
So send my love a letterbomb, and visit me in Hell

The time has come to end it all
Prepare for my last and final call
I’ll blow my brains out on the docks outside
It’s my own private suicide

©Jared Denstad
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About this poem:

When I listened to Green Day’s American Idiot album for the first time, I was struck by the first part of the song Homecoming where the character Jesus of Suburbia symbolically kills off his persona Saint Jimmy by having him commit suicide. The lyrics always stuck with me as being particularly shocking and gruesome, even to this day. This poem tries to imagine what Jimmy could have been going through if he was a real person. It was written as a thought experiment along these lines and is in no way intended to glorify or encourage suicide.

If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide please call 1–800–273–8255 to get help. Ending your own life is never the right answer to your problems, ever.