Ever since college, I've maintained that you've never really lived until you've stayed up until two o'clock in the morning creating drunken Magnetic Poetry with your best friends — but perhaps there's something to be said for creating Magnetic Poetry, drunken or otherwise, on your own, too. Depressing Fridge Poems on Instagram and Tumblr harnesses the absurd power of those tiny little magnetic words, and you guys? The results are amazing. They're kind of like what I would imagine Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh would write if he took up poetry for a hobby, although Eeyore likely wouldn't have access to a fridge. Whatever. Who says you need a fridge to get the most out of your favorite Magnetic Poetry set?
The work of Rusty Epstein, Depressing Fridge Poetry has been bringing doom and gloom to iceboxes everywhere since September of 2014. Epstein mostly uses standard Magnetic Poetry sets, although he told Comedy Central UK that he also has about 10 custom magnets to beef up his collection — which, he noted, “is why you'll see Lorde pop up in a poem from time to time.” And through this vast collection of unexpectedly verbose magnets? He produces work that speaks to our souls, taking our innermost thoughts and fears and drawing them out into the harsh light of day.
OK, maybe I'm reading into it too much. It is, however, hilarious, largely for the gravity given alternately to the mundanity of everyday life, or the most ridiculous things you could possibly think of. Most of us probably haven't had to grapple with a tiger before, but we've likely all thought on occasion, “Y'know, sometimes my friends can be real assholes.”
Initially, Epstein tried to write and post one poem a day; however, he found that particular format “exhausted a lot of my creativity pretty quickly.” These days, he sets aside a block of time each week devoted to creating as many poems as he can, allowing him to maintain a backlog of material to post on days when he's feeling a little burnt out. That's cool; we can't expect him to be a poetic genius all the time. He also releases music under the name Ry Porter, so for something a little more serious, head on over to his Soundcloud page.
Here is just a handful of the themes Epstein regularly tackles in his work; check out the Depressing Fridge Poetry Instagram and Tumblr pages for more. You won't regret it. I promise.
1. Growing Old
Time makes fools of us all. Or... something. I don't know, man — I just don't have the stamina to party during the week anymore. Sorry.
2. Love
I love you-ish, too.
3. And Also the Failure of Love
How Beckett-esque. I like it.
4. Religion
There's a whole series of these ones; the fridge's relationship with the higher powers appears to be somewhat fraught.
5. Mortality
The image of a tiger appears frequently, which makes a certain amount of sense when you think about it — for what is mortality but a tiger stalking our every move? Then again, maybe we're talking about literal tigers here. That'd be pretty scary, too.
6. Friendship
This is how you know you need new friends.
7. The Human Condition
And also possibly pretention.
8. Self-Doubt
None of us are, really. Perhaps we'd do well to remind ourselves of that fact from time to time.
9. Parental Relationships
Is the poet the parent? Or is the poet talking about their parent? It could go either way, I feel.
10. Grief
Superman cries for all lost life. Superman is a better person than most of us probably are.
11. The Futility of Life
A mystery, indeed.
12. Self-Perception
I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing... although it does suggest a certain untimely end. Speaking of...
13. Untimely Ends
Yeah. Like that.
Images: DepressingFridgePoems/Instagram (13)
