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Please Do Not Take Your Life - by Christian Anderson

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    187954

    • Christian Anderson at Pima Community College
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    They sit at a table with a hollowed and empty chair

    Each heart wishing they still had the one who used to sit there

    The house feels so empty without the sound of her laughter

    No way they knew that something like this would happen after

    There is nothing that could replace her presence for them all

    Never to be the same, and no one to answer that call

    She took her own life at only seventeen years of age

    The book of her life would never turn to another page

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    Picture for a moment a scene that you might know

    In our own city with the heartache it might show

    A school gym and a stadium full of mourners

    Of grief-stricken parents standing in the corners

    The principal addressing the agonized crowd

    The silence more deafening than anything loud

    They all had just seen her kindly face yesterday

    None could ever believe that she would go away

    Hundreds of people grieving a single passing

    If only the hopeless could see them all massing

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    And I know it’s a hard topic to bring up in public these days

    An uncomfortable subject as your sudden squirming betrays

    But it is happening far too much for us to simply not care

    We cannot ignore the plight of human suffering found out there

    And I know that some people feel like there’s no hope for their futures

    In a world with so many wounds unhealed by balms or by sutures

    They see all the good things come crashing down in a sorrowful end

    And they feel like they cannot go on without breaking from that bend

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    I apologize if I sound overly dramatic

    But I simply refuse to ignore something this tragic

    These broken souls need someone who’s trying to bring them aid

    This cost of depression is a price too many have paid

    There are so many who are drowning in worlds without hope

    Seeing such a bleak future, how can any of them cope?

    If we have a chance to tell these youth how precious they are,

    Would we attempt to step out of our comfort zone that far?

    We must do something, anything, and not sit idly by

    In the midst of a generation that’s wondering why

    They should even be trying to get up out of their beds

    I assure you that this issue isn’t just in our heads

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    We are facing a health crisis in the U.S.

    Of adults dealing with heavy mental distress

    We see it in the year 2020 alone,

    Tragedies the CDC statistics have shown.

    Twelve point two million considered suicide

    And the forty-six thousand people who have died

    One point two million tried to take their own life

    How can we be so blind to so much inner strife?

    This is an issue that I can’t idly pass by

    And if you knew my story you’d understand why

    I’ve been in those same shoes; I’ve walked that story out

    Those steps are agony and make you want to shout

    Rage against the grief, the unfairness of it all

    If only we were glad and didn’t always fall

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    I’ve been lucky enough to have someone help me through

    I hope beyond reason that we’d help others out too

    Because this is an issue affecting millions out there

    All it takes to start helping is for someone to care

    To rise to the occasion and show others their worth

    Through our kindness and care, a new movement we can birth

    A world that cares deeply for all states of mental health

    Listening to others, growing knowledge in its wealth

     

    -Please do not take your life-

     

    If you’re reading this in a crisis of your own

    Dear reader, please just know that you are not alone

    Don’t take your life because you feel forgotten there

    Because even if it’s just me, someone will care

    You matter, you’re worthy of some kindness and love.

    There’s hope for your future, learning to rise above

    Notes: Statistics cited come from

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Suicide Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022 https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/in...ages%2010%2D64.

     

    This page titled Please Do Not Take Your Life - by Christian Anderson is shared under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Christian Anderson at Pima Community College.