When a loved one commits suicide NO ONE wants to talk about it
Not about the person, the pain, the act,
they avoid it like the plague
Just because my son took his own life,
does not mean he was not a special person
HE was a kind, loving, giving human being
Just because he took his own life does not mean
he does not deserve to be remembered-
He does deserve for his name to be spoken
Just because he took his own life, does not
mean that I don't miss him with every fiber of
my being, I do and I wish it could have been different
Just because he took his own life, it does not mean
that I wish the situation were the same as when he was
alive, I do not, he was suffering from extreme illness and
I only want wholeness and peace for him, which I believe
he has achieved. But I will NOT avoid talking about suicide
and trying to DO SOMETHING about it, because it is a
painful terrible thing and it will not be stopped until
people talk about it and DO SOMETHING!
I am a proud American,
Nothing more, nothing less,
No tags to wear,
No labels to confess.
I am not blind to history,
Nor unaware of our mistakes.
Like nations older than our own,
We've known the risks that failure makes.
Yet through the trials of our past,
We learned, endured, and found a way.
To rise above our broken roads
And build a stronger path each day.
History is not a chain to drag,
Nor a script we must obey.
It is a compass in our hands,
To guide us forward on our way.
I know what this country means to me,
A truth no one can redefine.
Not by titles, not by degrees,
Nor by a different view than mine.
So let me stand where I believe,
Without demands that I conform.
Leave me be, and walk in peace,
No anger, only calm and warmth.
For I am a proud American,
Nothing more, nothing less;
A citizen of hope and freedom,
Without a need for anything else.
I’m just an American, and proud to be!
By James C. Chapman
Sarah I never knew how much of an angel you was. until you grew your wings and flew too that beautiful bright star above our heads and if that start would give me one wish. I would wish for you to come back and fix our broken hearts..?? but as I sit here underneath the night sky and bright moon.. remembering all of the ambivalent times we shared. I swear it makes my heart bleed tears...... if I laugh or cry as a grandad I hope she hears.. that I'm still not happy about the time she died my hair or all the times her friends made me babysit for a year lol *** so thank you everyone for the mad or amazing times we all got too shair xx
I love you big sister
As rent went unpaid by the tenants,
they had to pay a heavy penance.
One and all, copybook blotters,
their name became simply, 'Squatters'.
But, in this case, possession being nine-tenths of the law,
did not hold up in court, and, homeless once more,
were out in the cold for their derelictions,
as the landlord had the courage of his evictions.
The price is the price.
Anything in addition
is just opinion.
Why does the dog look
at me with suspicion today
as I grab the leash?
The tunnel got darker
the further suffered;
it's just opinion.
Deep inside the warmth
of the surrounding earth,
death is a price too high to pay.
When the suffering ends,
when the light welcomes,
is just opinion.
I've been covered by the blanket of life
Circumstances have been entry level
This world been engaging intimate lore and strife
Keep telling myself and others gonna get better
I'm leaving all the cares and woes
to my Almighty Father in HEAVEN
woe is me
this my prayer just for a blanket covering
still and again
Always AMEN
8/27/26
written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2026©
What-When Where- How- Why
No greater love than a man lay down his life for a friend
This is where a life story journey begins: the unwanted bliss, the forbidden child begins to speak!
Wished to be born to come to the birth canal, wished to breathe the mist of the fragrant grass
the air wished for water or the time the bag burst for life, the tear the tare the feel is real but there
Inside the belly remorse removable no contentment the rest but not for long for it was heard in the sealed small voice the curse the worst never to ride a bicycle down the pavement never to be tucked inside on clean white sheets never to rest the head on a fluffy pillow sprinkled in love and care
Never to taste a sweet, never to know a friend to run and play with, not any day. What is play?
Never could know how to say, Mother
Neither the word Daddy. My last words, last thought, last cry, last tear, last fear, last pain, last day
So Close
What, where, when, how, why? Where are they... They were once so close to life, now gone, never mind because I'm not here on earth anymore, just a ghost, nothing more!
.
Those of us who’ve reached the age
Of “senior” status know
That many things are different from
The days of long ago.
Yet we remember how it felt
To be a child or teen
Or young adult or middle-aged
And all the years between.
For looking back is easy; we had
Energy to spare,
Youthful bodies, unlined faces
And a head of healthy hair.
Those of younger age, however,
Cannot ever comprehend
That they’ll lose the version of themselves
On which they now depend.
They are rooted in denial,
Thinking they won’t ever be
Someone looking in a mirror
And not liking what they see.
So the “wisdom” of the old, then,
Is you can’t avoid your fate.
Aging’s guaranteed to happen;
Don’t believe it? Just you wait!
communications could peaceably reform careless complain turmoil
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • August 17–23, 2026)
I am not Jessica Rabbit,
nor as erasable as a cartoon
We all wash out, eventually
My heroes loving villains
We all wash out
eventually
my intoxicating
blurred fantasy
Local Knowledge,
Will always give you the edge,
On what bets to hedge,
Where best to plant a hedge,
Where not to dredge.
Ask a local and pay no fee,
Get the best info for free,
Even comes with a cup of tea,
And a garden in full bloom to see.
With local input,
You can increase your output,
With no no time out,
To hear the locals shout,
why were we not told about.
If you want long term profit,
Local knowledge will always be a better fit,
And save the need for a costly refit.
Best of all time for more golf will be a given,
So, why not give in,
Meet with the locals at their local Inn,
Put your original plan in the bin,
Giving logic time to settle in.
,
My empty glass is mocking me.
It laughs at my proclivity.
It led me here and knocked me down.
Another drink and I will drown.
They told me it would be such fun,
But now that it’s all said and done,
I see all that they did not say
As my heart led my head astray…
My empty wallet seems to cry.
The tab has left me high and dry.
I thought I had a little more
But I’ve so much less than before.
A victim of my overreach.
I’m just an old dog you can’t teach.
I fall back on familiar ways.
So, here I am ‘til end of days..
An empty heart, an aching head…
Just help me make it to my bed.
Please do not leave me where I lay;
My foolish choices on display.
They tell me anyone can change.
The ways of grace are awfully strange.
So, that’s what I’ll do come the dawn.
My promises go on and on…
Pick me up and take me home
I can’t make it on my own
I’m laid out upon the floor
I can’t make it to the door
I need a lift so call a ride
And maybe help me get outside
I am stuck here all alone
And I just want to make it home.
I just want to make it home.
I have addictions
I’m laying in my garden midnight bathing
there’s something in my system
something’s on the way from which I need saving
tomorrow I have a free house
I’m thinking of inviting ten men
there’s more chance of that
than seeing all of my friends
yeah it’s really quite disarming
I’m always told that I’m their best
would you say I’m charming
or shall I just give it a rest?
I crave better connection
it’s only human after all
but I come with all this baggage
the bump in the pavement which made you fall
I try to be polite
I’m told i’m too nice
I try to be in charge
I’m told i’m cold as ice
I suppose you can’t win them all
I’ve been thinking about weddings
meanwhile tinder has me hidden
is it a curse or is it a blessing
that I’m over six foot tall
but the world just keeps on spinning
and I don’t think about that at all
Take a minute to breathe
Actually, just exhale
The rest will take care of itself.
All around, the world is showing you
How to simply let go.
With signs as subtle as which way the wind blows.
Or if you’d rather,
Hold on as tight as you possibly can
Eventually you too will become exhausted.
Pleasure or pain isn’t the point,
Since both are subjective,
And interchangeably desirable for some.
The point is finding there is really no point
No up or down
Only that space you’ve exhaled to.
(8/10/26)
I just, I only love you
Nothing else, nothing special
If there is no need, then go, don't accept
The love. The pure to live
My heart without any clothes
My being is completely naked
You don't want a pure soul
Why? Why? Because poor
That's true. But part of love
For you the whole. Just for
Just for you. Leave me a chance
I want to love, the super
Just teach, I don't know
How to do it. I forgot
Forget it
Me
The love
I just
Only
Yours
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