Darkness

Before sharing this poem I want to make it clear that while as a teenager I had suicidal thoughts more than once. I have been affected by suicide, and senseless death, in more ways than one. I have seen and felt the impact that it has on whole communities. I also in no way want to discredit the darkness that I know many of us battle to contain on a daily basis, and some of our close friends have succumbed to. I do not assume to understand the full weight of the pain that they felt leading up to their deaths. However, I also want to open myself up as a person that people can talk to about these feelings.

I would much rather talk to any of you about those feelings than watch them overtake you, as would any of those surrounding you. As a teenager it helped me a great deal to recognize the effect suicide would have on others. That no matter how alone I felt at times, I never was. No matter how many people I felt did not care about me, there were double or triple that amount that care beyond comprehension.

That being said -

Darkness;

By Joe O'Banion

People often say that we carry a light inside

When inside of us we contain darkness

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We exude light

We share happiness

We express kindness

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We carry darkness

It bolsters itself inside of us

When we are weak it seeps and spreads

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Overflowing receptacles of darkness

Duty bound to contain the oppressive weight we hold

Unleashed when we can no longer carry on

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The outflow of icy cold unbound in our deaths

Unmeasured by our own observed impact in life

Our own light is perceived brighter by others

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A casket is a far weaker container of darkness

Once unrestrained it darkens those which lightened us the most