Welcome to Poetry Friday! This week's round up is hosted by A Year of Reading blog. Please click over to read all of this week's poetry goodness.
Laura Purdie Salas hosts a 15 Words or Less Poetry Challenge each Thursday. Laura posts a photo and asks participants to write a poem- 15 words or less- inspired by what they see. It's meant to be a little poetry warm-up for the day. Yesterday's poem was a mural of Prince. I was inpsired by his eyes and by the brick wall. It made me think about the young person from my small town who took his own life a few weeks ago. He was the third young person to take his life in the last 2 1/2 years in our tiny little town. The sign you see on your way into our town says, "The Little Town With The Big Heart." But right now, we're the little town with the big broken heart. My heart aches for the pain this young man felt and for the pain his family and friends are left with. I went over the 15 word limit, but here's my poem.
Wall
by Kimberly M. Hutmacher
You build your wall,
brick by brick.
Shutting me out.
I know you're sick.
You think I can't see.
You think I don't know.
You think I don't care.
You think I'll let go.
Don't look away.
Look in my eyes.
They see your pain.
Your silent cries.
Take down your wall,
brick by brick.
Let me in.
I know you're sick.
Let me help.
Let me stay.
Let me hold
your hand today.
Copyright 2019
If you know of someone who is in crisis, please share the following information with them and/or their family and friends.
Text HOME to 741741
24 hours a day 7 days a week
for crisis support in the U.S.
Kimberly, your poem is comforting but within the young people who are troubled lies a fathomless ocean of grief. My town has had 3 deaths by suicide and all three young adults I knew since they were young. Crisis support is essential to help our youth navigate through muddy waters.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I'm so sorry to hear of the losses your community has suffered as well. Yes, I pray that those who are suffering gain the courage they need to seek help and that they will have a strong support system to help them through treatment.
DeleteHeartbreaking. I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth.
DeleteI am sorry for your loss & for the child whose feelings could not be overcome. I have lost two students to suicide (after they were in their high school lives) & a nephew's son, so heartbreaking. Wishing there could be a positive answer for those so overcome. Your poem shows the need to break the walls, Kimberly, but how?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for the losses you've experienced, Linda. I wish I knew the how, but I hope the stigma around mental illness lessens. I pray that those who are suffering will find the courage to seek help and that those they reach out to will take them seriously and help them to get the help they so desperately need.
DeleteI can't even imagine how these tragedies impact a family and a town. Sending peace and love. Your poem needs to be in all the schools and businesses to remind every citizen to bee on the lookout for walls that can be dismantled.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary Lee.
DeleteOh, I am so sorry. What a heartbreak. I agree with Mary Lee, this poem needs to be in all schools and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jone.
DeleteKimberly, my community has had a similar experience. We are several years past it now but the pain remains. My eldest was in HS at the time...and she struggled with self-destructive thoughts. It IS heartbreaking. I've become sort of fascinated with the brain science of adolescent brains ...I just listened to an amazing audible episode of "What Were You Thinking" and it was on suicide contagion and the development of teen brains. There is so much for us to learn. So many bricks to take down. Thank you for sharing today.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear this happened in your community, too, Linda. I'm going to look up the audible episode you mentioned. Thank you for sharing.
DeleteI'm so sorry Kimberly. Suicide is never easy, no matter the age, but when it is a young person, the pain seems harder to deal with, so much is left undone. Hoping you and your community find healing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cheriee.
DeleteI'm so sorry for the young people that decided leaving was there way of coping.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this strong and sensitive response.
Thank you, Michelle.
DeleteOh Kimberly, what a tragic situation. Your poem reflects the heart of so many, I'm sure. It brings to mind one young person I knew from HS who took his life a year or two after graduation. I remember the shock, because he seemed so together and had so much potential. I think that's one of the scariest things about suicidal thoughts, is that they're often hidden very well from the rest of the world. As a parent though, it has made me even more keenly attuned to my own children.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about being so successful at hiding true thoughts and feelings. So often, it's when someone seems to be on the upswing, that they will choose to end it. It's just heartbreaking.
Delete