Kanye West Writes A Dark Poem Titled “DEAD” & Refuses To Explain What It Means

Always one to use art to work through what’s happening in his life, Kanye West has penned a new poem titled “DEAD” that deals with the demise of his marriage to Kim Kardashian. The 44-year-old rapper started the poem, which he posted on his Instagram, by telling the reader he is “dead,” which many view as a sign that his divorce is killing him. “No one wanted to tell me I was DEAD,” the poem reads, “and only people that would talk to me were in my head.”

The line about the voices in his head likely is a nod to Ye’s mental health struggles — and perhaps even commentary on how others have treated him since he opened up about being bipolar and sometimes off his medication. West concluded the poem with, “I found out one day at the newsstand in purgatory there was a front page article of my murderers story,” though he didn’t identify who these “murderers” are specifically.

West didn’t explain the poem because that would destroy the “mystery” of it. “I feel already compromised that I have to justify my expression after over 20 years of art that I’ve contributed to the planet but I also see the need to make sure we as a species are allowed to still feel anything,” he wrote in his punctuation-deprived caption. “Men not allowed to cry celebrities not allowed to cry I will not explain this new piece for the explanation destroys the mystery and magic of true love and puts it in a box that can be counted Art is subjective Art only works when it is the artist absolute truth Someone’s truth can be another persons lie We don’t all have to feel the same because we are not the same With out further ado I present to you my latest creation it is called DEAD.”

This is the second time in less than a week that West has chosen to get his feelings out via written verse, as opposed to in song, which is his usual method. Three days before posting “DEAD,” West delivered a poem titled “DIVORCE.” That piece includes lines like, “Divorce feels like full-blown Covid. Divorce feels like your doctor don’t know shit. Divorce feels like you’re walking on glass. Divorce feels like you’re running through a glass wall. Divorce feels like you’re being bullied in a class hall. Divorce feels like you’re getting beat up in the mall.”

These poems come just days after a judge finally granted Kardashian’s request to be formally declared a single woman, something she had been working toward despite West’s delays to move forward with the divorce. The reality TV star has also dropped the West from her last name, and she is back to being Kim Kardashian. For his part, the current Grammy nominee has been very vocal about his desire to reunite with his former love and reform his family.