--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suicides have a special language. Like…" description: "\"Suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/anne-sexton-645_carpenter_suicides-have-a-special-language-like-ca_2938657.png" --- # Suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they… ![“Suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/anne-sexton-645_carpenter_suicides-have-a-special-language-like-ca_2938657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/anne-sexton-645_carpenter_suicides-have-a-special-language-like-ca_2938657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/anne-sexton-645_carpenter_suicides-have-a-special-language-like-ca_2938657.png) > “Suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suicide is portrayed as a unique, tool‑driven language where the act is purposeful, not questioned, reflecting a grim, utilitarian view of self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Suicide is a purposeful, tool‑driven act. Key Takeaway Address underlying pain behind self‑harm. Themes mental health existential language Mood empathetic cautionary Type therapeutic educational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - educational workshops - crisis hotlines Key Concepts tool metaphor fatalism communication Questions to Reflect On - How can we intervene compassionately? - What language helps victims feel heard? A Different Perspective Risk of romanticizing self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) [Carpenters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenters-1573287/) [Carpenters Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenters-want-1898714/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Like Carpenters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-carpenters-1898713/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicides/) [Suicides Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicides-special-1898712/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. Twice I have so simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/but-suicides-have-a-special-language-like-carpenters-they-want-to/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I like the Carpenters and Elvis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia/i-like-the-carpenters-and-elvis/) [Sia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia/) > [In a world where carpenters get resurrected, everything is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-a-world-where-carpenters-get-resurrected-everything-is-possible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love everything John Carpenters ever done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-cotrona/i-love-everything-john-carpenters-ever-done/) [D. J. Cotrona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-cotrona/) > [Were it not for the bone in the legge, all the world would turne Carpenters (to make them crutches).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/were-it-not-for-the-bone-in-the-legge-all-the-world-would-turne/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Irrigators channel waters; fletchers straighten arrows; carpenters bend wood; the wise master themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/irrigators-channel-waters-fletchers-straighten-arrows-carpenters-bend/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Wanting to Die Since you ask, most days I cannot remember. I walk in my clothing, unmarked by that voyage. Then the almost unnameable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/wanting-to-die-since-you-ask-most-days-i-cannot-remember-i-walk-in-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Balanced there, suicides sometimes meet, raging at the fruit, a pumped-up moon, leaving the bread they mistook for a kiss, leaving the page of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/balanced-there-suicides-sometimes-meet-raging-at-the-fruit-a-pumped/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“They should also write every day. They shouldn’t wait for inspiration. Carpenters don’t need inspiration to make a table. It’s their profession. If they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-pitt/they-should-also-write-every-day-they-shouldn-t-wait-for-inspiration/) [Darrell Pitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-pitt/) > [The Carpenters songs had a lot of melody. And people have always liked a good melody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carpenter/the-carpenters-songs-had-a-lot-of-melody-and-people-have-always-liked/) [Richard Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carpenter/) > [You can listen to carpenters talk for hours in Ireland. The people have a relationship to words that I don't think you will run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-earle/you-can-listen-to-carpenters-talk-for-hours-in-ireland-the-people/) [Steve Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-earle/) > [“Casual affairs never interested him. Every girl he met was gauged as a potential life partner, a soul mate, an undying love, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/casual-affairs-never-interested-him-every-girl-he-met-was-gauged-as-a/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Why do we insist on being the carpenters of our own crosses?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zunski/why-do-we-insist-on-being-the-carpenters-of-our-own-crosses/) [John Zunski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zunski/) > [“All three are terrific carpenters and cabinetmakers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/all-three-are-terrific-carpenters-and-cabinetmakers/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“The Carpenters had a threshold more solid and extensive than the Great Wall of China. I would not be in the least bit surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/the-carpenters-had-a-threshold-more-solid-and-extensive-than-the/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Carpenter quotes > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Even if I wasn't in music, even if my father was a carpenter, some guy in Jamaica would go 'You're just like Bob. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/even-if-i-wasn-t-in-music-even-if-my-father-was-a-carpenter-some-guy/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-like-ares-comes-the-bridegroom/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/as-regards-the-quietude-of-the-sage-he-is-not-quiet-because-quietness/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [There's a devil inside me which cries, "You're not the son of the Carpenter, you're the son of King David! You are not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/there-s-a-devil-inside-me-which-cries-you-re-not-the-son-of-the/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [As I've gotten old I've really listened to a wide spectrum of music, whether it's The Carpenters, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z or Lauryn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-sudano/as-i-ve-gotten-old-i-ve-really-listened-to-a-wide-spectrum-of-music/) [Brooklyn Sudano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-sudano/) > [This, more than anything else, is what I have never understood about your people. You can roll dice, and understand that the whole game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/this-more-than-anything-else-is-what-i-have-never-understood-about/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [It's the ones that deal with the inner fear, the unknown realms and the mysticisms that are scary. You had that in the Carpenter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/it-s-the-ones-that-deal-with-the-inner-fear-the-unknown-realms-and/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/read-read-read-read-everything-trash-classics-good-and-bad-and-see/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“The Carpenter Shop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-carpenter-shop/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I'd rather spend half an hour in the company of a top carpenter, than three hours in the company of an average brain surgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-d-rather-spend-half-an-hour-in-the-company-of-a-top-carpenter-than/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-may-abuse-a-tragedy-though-you-cannot-write-one-you-may-scold-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. Twice I have so simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/but-suicides-have-a-special-language-like-carpenters-they-want-to/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) [Browse all 249 Carpenter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. 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