I came to this thread hoping someone would share this, too. Both the GB and the RG response are bedrocks in my poetry first aid kit. We are so lucky to know these poems!!
I've been so depressed I'm actually numb. Just can't feel anything at the moment. Simply cannot believe people voted yes, I want more of this nonsense and bullshit, please. Sickening.
I'm a middle-aged bird and thank you for that. I will fight until I am old and grey. After that, may there be life after death and I will remain here to haunt the fascists.
That’s a great poem. A psychiatrist once told a teen who was depressed ‘suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem’. It may not seem temporary at the time, but given time the desperation feeling might pass and something positive will happen.
This is a brilliant poem. On the same subject, in a different mood but with the same intent, and a century older, is Chesterton's A Ballad of Suicide https://www.chesterton.org/a-ballade-of-suicide/
Beautiful. Thank you for this, Nikita. I would like to tell people https://PoemADay.com is wonderful. Subscribe and they'll deliver a poem to your email every day. I recommend it to anyone who NEEDS to tune out the bad, sad and awful if only for a moment each day.
Then as an undergraduate a surprising opportunity to take Creative Writing taught by Gwendolyn Brooks. She was an extraordinary teacher. I mentioned having studied her poem in high school, after class she slipped me an autographed copy of her collected works. A prized and well worn treasure today.
In high school a favorite teacher introduced us to Gwendolyn Brooks through her poem “Hunchback Girl: She Thinks of Heaven.” More than 60 years later I remember some lines: “It is a straight place,…right, regular…with no looks a little to the left.”
The line that always sticks to my mind.. is that death is our neighbour down the road. he's not far, he's not near. i can go visit or go near and I can try to avoid but in the end, we all make mistakes and sooner or later your paths will cross.. but it's only that, a meeting.. unless !? 🧐I say yes
Thank you so much for posting this. I learned over the weekend that a friend lost his battle with depression. I myself am a survivor of clinical depression (and I wish I knew how, so I could share); this poem would have been helpful in those days. I hope and pray it helps others now.
Having spent more than half my life chronically suicidal, and being about to hit 50, I've always found doing exactly what this poem says to be the key.
Just hang on for today.
And the next day, just hang on for today.
I've also found it helpful to have something that relies on me. For me cats.
Because you can't escape yourself? You're facing an enemy with deep knowledge of all your weaknesses, who will exploit them mercilessly. Kind of an autoimmune disease of the mind. If it was as simple as relocation, then that would be wonderful! But it's overcoming the entire narrative of one's life.
i rly rly don't mean to imply that this is a way to solve your problems/ smt all depressed people should try! lifestyle remedies have big limitations & i would never minimize this serious disease
all i mean is that when you're suicidal, the sentiment "fuck it, why not" starts to make a lot of sense
It certainly does, and I get where you're coming from -but considerations such as debt, familial ties and one's few precious friendships exert a strong force. I'd move elsewhere in a heartbeat if all the crap didn't follow me and my friends were happy to come along! Sorry if I came across as abrupt.
but when i was in my depths, i found something appealing about the notion of "fuck it, what do i have to lose?" something less saccharine than hope but somehow nicer than despair
Love this! Thanks for posting it. Having worked with youth for many years I wish I could've passed along something like this to them because it offers so much hope…
We all need an anchor….
I had a plaque a long time ago that said,
“The question of suicide, keep it a question, because it’s not really an answer.”
It always has stuck with me. And even helped me through tough times.
I'm glad I've never reached this point but I urge those who are there to seek help and support. I have long found solace in the simple but powerful words of the Desiderata.
I have the Desiderata, in beautiful calligraphy, on my bedroom wall. Those wise words have helped me through many a difficult time in my 80+ years on this earth. Thank you for reminding folks of their power.
This is a beautiful gift for you to share born out of your desperation & depths. Thank you for opening my mind & heart to a new poet & for giving us an actual tool we can use to help.
Thank you for sharing. My younger self needed to cry through it a few times. I'm still amazed and grateful she let me here, at this age, in this world. Thank you so much.
I was hoping someone would mention this one. I know the words by heart, it has stopped me in my tracks. This series has done much for many suicidal folks
I binged it during covid after one of our worst weeks in the icu and I just remember weeping on my couch after multiple night shifts. I try not to glorify pieces of media, but I do feel like this one really helped me synthesize an incredibly deep sorrow I was drowning in
I understand that all. I also binged during covid and it completely changed my life. Not only did I not kill myself, it helped me escape toxic abusers by showing me the red flags and abuse cycles.
It made me promise to use my art skills to save others like that.
That kicks a lot of ass, and I'm happy you're still here ❤️ if you're a reader, Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives had a very similar effect on me during the same difficult time. But also it's a gateway drug into like 6000 pages of an expansive fantasy universe
Yeah I'll look into it :) thanks for the recommendation. Working my way through the Lord of the Rings at the moment, which is also pretty encouraging to me
You are the best ever at who you are. You will grow into your roles, your experiences and the very many lives you touch will be an addition to theirs, however small, otherwise incomplete without you. Life, live. Repeat 😎
Every moment you have a choice . Between doing and not, between thinking or not, between living or not. If you cannot justify your existence in this world, try doing something. But do it as if it was the last thing you are going to do in this life. Suddenly you figure out you can do things. Repeat
Thank you for sharing. Hang in there.💛
I discovered Gwendolyn Brooks in elementary school, when I found this poem in the library. Even at that young age I understood it well enough to stay on the (more or less) straight and narrow (most of the time).
I saw her read at the library of Congress years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t make it into the main room, just the side chamber and closed circuit TV, but so powerful. I remember her delivery now like I was still there.
I'm far from young
That's a distant image in my rear view mirror
I'm on several medical watch lists with VA due to things I got exposed to during my career
As long as results are negative or within limits
Follow ups are by phone
I'm not saying she said or I know why
But
It's difficult to accept
After giving years of our lives and often much of our health
In service to this country
That some stolen citizenship jerk who never served
is even suggesting taking away
The benefits we rightfully earned
And many depend upon
I had never seen this before. Thank you. As someone who has lived with bone crushing depression, this is probably the most impactful thing I've seen. I was going to print it and put it up somewhere, but I think I'll just commit it to memory.
Have you also read the Desiderata? It is a powerful affirmation and I’m sure it’s available online printed/framed. I got mine >30yrs ago from a local woman who did beautiful calligraphy.
That works unless "tomorrow" doesn't work anymore. Because maybe you're out of money, or out of shelter, or out of resources, or out of ANY way forward. Eventually, "one more step" just isn't possible. I can see that day coming.
I'm sadden to hear at times you feel this way..I'd be lieing If I said I never thought this.probably more times then you've been on earth.. But hear I am..62 and actually looking forward to what lies ahead..always here if you ever need to talk..❤🐾
Comments
Just thinkin...
Getting past the deep dark spot and back into the light may still hurt, but being alive is like that some days.
Just hang on for today.
And the next day, just hang on for today.
I've also found it helpful to have something that relies on me. For me cats.
And for some of us, it is necessary to be needed.
go live in a van in puerto rico. start a band. start a movement. hell, jump on a train and see where it takes you.
if you're suicidal, you have NOTHING to lose. so why not?
all i mean is that when you're suicidal, the sentiment "fuck it, why not" starts to make a lot of sense
I'd still be there. Nothing would change.
but when i was in my depths, i found something appealing about the notion of "fuck it, what do i have to lose?" something less saccharine than hope but somehow nicer than despair
I had a plaque a long time ago that said,
“The question of suicide, keep it a question, because it’s not really an answer.”
It always has stuck with me. And even helped me through tough times.
Please keep going because we need you. The world needs kindness.
It is bothpowerful & meaningful… we all need anchors 💕
I'm impressed... This is powerful stuff
It made me promise to use my art skills to save others like that.
Yeah I'll look into it :) thanks for the recommendation. Working my way through the Lord of the Rings at the moment, which is also pretty encouraging to me
Hell, spring's already here in St Pete. 😇🙂
Never give up. Never, ever give up.
Strategic retreat and tactical withdrawal, yes.
But... We get knocked down, we get up again, and they're never going to keep us down.
Thank you.
I discovered Gwendolyn Brooks in elementary school, when I found this poem in the library. Even at that young age I understood it well enough to stay on the (more or less) straight and narrow (most of the time).
Love this, thank you.
Reminds me of the mantra I turn to in moments of despair:
“Let everything happen to you;
beauty and terror.
Just keep going.
No feeling is final…”
–Rainer Maria Rilke
https://translations.diehoren.com/2015/03/god-speaks-to-each-of-us.html
Thank you for posting this.
That's a distant image in my rear view mirror
I'm on several medical watch lists with VA due to things I got exposed to during my career
As long as results are negative or within limits
Follow ups are by phone
She excused herself and said she had to ask five questions before we were finished
All five delt with suicide or self harm
Always a concern of the VA
But this seemed like a renewed emphasis
But
It's difficult to accept
After giving years of our lives and often much of our health
In service to this country
That some stolen citizenship jerk who never served
is even suggesting taking away
The benefits we rightfully earned
And many depend upon
That poem touches something deep in my soul.
Start w Veteran's hospitals.
you can find ten ways to fight"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk4EspwLpzc