A slumped tin wind-up robot sits on yellow cloth beside a loose key and a small white flag.

Original artwork, not a still

Joe Jones

Anne Lamott

I just gave up one day. Around the time the news about toxic shock syndrome came out. I thought, Fuck me, man, I give up. Come and get me.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker recalls the day they simply stopped fighting, prompted by alarming news about a health danger. Their surrender is blunt and profane: they stop resisting and dare whatever is coming to arrive. The tone mixes exhaustion, dread and defiant, weary humour.

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