On Returning Leftover Peppermint to My NeighborDigestion liquesces peppermint. I chew
the leaves for both of us, an aftertaste
when stillness is an afterthought.
Dust gleams like the raised plastic on a debit card.
Winds seem to bank and then burst through a window
in a venetian blind-slatted sunshine;
bars slit across you on the floor.
Strangers make front entrances where shoes scuff the rug.
The briefest, jagged arcs...
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Categories:
suicide, bereavement, community, confusion, death
Form: Free verse
New Beginnings(April 7, 2025)
To new beginnings,
A moment in time where we have an opening to try and start anew
Every soul has dealt with yearning for a chance to redeem themselves
What better way than to start in the Spring,
How angelic it is when we see the leaves bloom and everything starts to look rich again.
I for...
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Categories:
suicide, anxiety, blessing, courage, depression,
Form: Free verse
Finding PeaceFacing my new reality can be overwhelming
I am blessed to be the mother of two sons
one of which is accomplishing great things
here on earth and the other is in heaven
I have always been proud of both of my sons,
and of course, I love them both no matter what,
but it is difficult knowing that my youngest...
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Categories:
family, peace, suicide,
Form: Free verse
Burnt Out BulbsYou never saw past the glory days of 17.
Because you got sad and thought it a better idea
to hang yourself from the ceiling fan
instead of replacing its burnt-out bulbs.
Bright idea.
Dimming the light of all the candles
whose hearts and souls were trying
to add light to your dark and dismal life.
You were selfish to drop...
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Categories:
suicide, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Free verse
my rapist's follow request on facebookping!
like pavlov's dog,
i glance
quick
at my phone
new facebook follow request.
i click the account
click!
my rapist.
it's been nearly 14 years since the first the time
he laid his hands on me
but i feel them
like it was this morning.
ping!
his son
liked my post on Instagram
,
are they working together?
are they a team again?
father and son,
teacher and apprentice,
master of none
but...
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Categories:
recovery from, strength, suicide,
Form: Spoken Word
the victim of amplified suicideshe was the victim of amplified suicide
what does that mean? I asked Detective McBride
She tried to hang herself first, he rapidly replied
But the knot in the rope had become untied
She took fifty-nine pills from a bottle
which explains why her skin has a bit of a mottle
she finally crashed her caddy into a bridge
in the next...
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Categories:
suicide,
Form: Rhyme
Beyond Grief's Rusty Gateso harrowing, life journey from radiant light to pitch-darkness - quote by poet.
a (groaning) dread
nobody deserves
to muddle through,
day after day;
the loss of a spouse
...
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Categories:
suicide, birth, confusion, death, grief,
Form: Narrative
Spiritual SuicideBlack man, do you remember who you are?
Before temples were carved from stone,
before books whispered borrowed truths,
you were already divine.
You walked with spirit, not religion.
You read the stars and the rivers,
you spoke to the wind and it answered,
you heard God in the thunder and
saw His face in the lion’s gaze.
But now—
You kneel before foreign names.
You...
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Categories:
suicide, betrayal, racism, religion, spiritual,
Form: Free verse
Death to Life in HimDeath is to be my great enemy
For in living I am to be
The friend of life, and put to death
That force that longs to steal my breath—
Away! — away that hallowed hollow grave
My ally, the stone that bears my name
The one, oh would that I could fill
That hole, that bowl of earth
To swallow me down...
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Categories:
suicide, christian, depression, love, mental
Form: Free verse
what more can be taken
What More Can Be Taken
I came from a house where love never stayed,
Where fists did the talking and kindness decayed.
Where silence was safer than saying a word,
And a child’s small heartbreak was never once heard.
I ran to the bottle, to smoke and to fire,
Chased numbness like peace, sank deep in the vile.
Got locked in a...
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Categories:
suicide, abuse, addiction, anger, angst,
Form: Rhyme
Safe and Sound(To be read in the rhythm of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen / Rufus Wainwright)
I know I said I’d be better by now
But I wander through like a ghost in town
And I can’t live with the person that did that to you
It’s not unlike a wounded heart
It bleeds and aches like dripping art
And yet it...
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Categories:
suicide, dark, hurt, relationship, sad,
Form: Lyric
The house with no lightsOne,
Two,
Three,
Four...
Shadows crawl in hope of escape.
Five,
Six—
Interrupting thoughts and fear demand attention.
“Hello, I'm here.”
The mind cowardly answers the call.
Life unhinges — unlocking the greed of depression.
The door opens, welcoming the darkness into the house with no lights.
Allowing the destruction to flood centre stage.
No spotlight needed.
He's strong, surrounded by the blackness.
He's seen. He's heard. He's felt—
He's home.
His...
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Categories:
suicide, anxiety, dark, depression, psychological,
Form: Free verse
Who will hold her exhaustion when it gets too heavyExhaustion was a burden she would always have to carry
A lingering shadow that gave her no peace
Even haunting her in her sleep
Her most notable feature
Was her eye bags so heavy
They begged to be heard
Screamed to be released
Hoping someone will save her from the abyss
Of Exhaustion
Tired from a life of always running
Away...
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Categories:
suicide, depression, discrimination, mental health,
Form: Free verse
father's dayZero.
I imagine you watched,
With awe and wonder
At the image on the screen,
My movements
In black and white,
As the sonographer moved the wand,
Up and down
The belly of my mother,
Showing you
Mystery and excitement,
The next chapter
Of your lives.
One.
You gave me ice cream
When you
Definitely
Were
Not
Supposed
To,
And I think a bond formed.
Mischief by mouthfuls,
We were already unstoppable.
Two, Three, Four.
Toddler...
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Categories:
suicide, child, daughter, father, father
Form: Free verse
No Peace, No SolaceI wish I could’ve whispered
To my young and clueless self
That this boy lives on a timer
This boy really needs help
It was already written down
By nature’s cruel hand
It was craved into the stars
He’ll try, but won’t withstand
One day I was in English class
I got a breaking...
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Categories:
angst, grief, school, suicide,
Form: Rhyme
Specific Types of Suicide Poems
Definition | What is Suicide in Poetry?