Poetry submitted by Joan on Friday, January 14, 2005 at 3:32PM :

SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE (LAMENT)

Survivors of Suicide
Make no mistake
Are not those who survived
Their death-wish state

Survivors of Suicide
Are those left behind
By those who died
From a hopeless mind

We seek answers
To what went wrong
While others pressure
Us to carry on, be strong

Our brains know it’s real
But our hearts deny
Our hearts only feel
Our hearts only cry

We all live on
We’re still alive
They’re now gone
They choose to die

We can’t explain
We can only guess
What was their pain
What was their stress

Did they really feel
Did they really know
They wouldn’t heal
They’d have to go

Where was their hope
Where was their faith
Why couldn’t they cope
What made them break

We know so well
Whatever life brings
You can still excel
Even when life stings

Whatever life entails
Whatever life gives
Our heart prevails
Our conviction lives

Others don’t understand
Our extensive griefs
When we crash-land
From shattered beliefs

They have no comprehension
Of the unique loss we share
They know not the contention
Of the anguish we bear

There’s no understanding
Why someone suicides
Notwithstanding
How someone decides

We loved them so
No matter what
Even so, they chose
To self-destruct

God grant us peace
Mend our hearts
God grant them peace
Death sleep imparts

We miss them so
We shed tears
We feel the woe
Of lost years

We wish it weren’t so
We wish they were here
We wish we could show
Them to survive their fear

We could hold their hands
Help soothe their minds
Help them to withstand
Anxieties, whatever kinds

Some of us tried so hard
Our help was in vain
When up went a guard
Trepidation took reign

We now reach out
To others in need
When their hearts doubt
When their hearts bleed

Together we confront loss
We will survive
To bear the cross
As a Survivor of Suicide

By Joan Watson 07/12/01