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Keyon Howard Mar 2020
I wish to share a story of a man who’s passed away
Now everything is different, now that he’s gone away
He ended his own story, he wrote his final page
Just to start another story, a story from the grave…

This story I shall read to you, but listen now with care
This is a tale of treachery, the story that I share
It picks up with a final wish and one heartbreaking prayer
While tightening his noose, hoping to strangle his despair

He had so much to lose but he was blinded by his pain
He kicks away the stool and chokes, his body fiercely strains
To grasp a breath of air and breathe, but this effort is in vain
He is determined to end his life, his heart is bound in chains

His conscience screams as his last struggle fights against his will
A few more squirms, tears fall like rain, and then his body stills
And then he saw his body hanging, the one that he had killed
Of all mistakes he ever made, this was his last fulfilled

And yet his last his greatest too, and now it was too late
He saw his body swinging there, and behind it saw hells gates
Then he remembered what he had, his son who was but eight
A wife and father, who housed them all, and yet he took hells bate

He’d made mistakes that he had deemed too grave to ever fix
Ironically it's from the grave he learned the devil's tricks
And now he weeps in anguish, for rejecting all those hints
That told him nothing was ever too deep for him to never fix

Why had he kept his follies secret, why didn’t he confess?
Such heinous acts as this made him another of hells guests
But forced to watch his body swing, a weight grew in his chest
This was his choice, he chose this fate, now how could he protest?

If he thought that he knew pain before, this brought pain a new meaning
Such horror now he felt inside, he wished that has was dreaming
He knew his family would return, he could feel the screaming
That would incur, as soon they’d find his body, silently swinging

So he waits, watching his figure dangling in the closet
Tonight his son of 8 years old learns who was the monster
Goodbye his life and loving wife, he wished he had been honest
He thought he had no choice but he was the one who caused it

How did he not see what he had? So selfish and so blind...
Into the driveway his family parks, they've noticed a few signs
That something about him was amiss, that he’d a divided mind
And soon their fears would be confirmed by the corpse they’d find

It wasn’t lack of offered help that he’d made the choice he did
But that he ignored his loved one’s pleas to return to being him
Soon they’d find it worse than thought, that he’d decide to give
Everything that he held dear, all for his mounting sin

Now he can barely bear to watch it from that gloomy place
He feels claws upon his heart as he sees horror-struck faces
He ****** himself and every thought, where is his saving grace?
He’s screaming loud and reaching out, but he can’t reach that place

He’s departed from what once was life, he knows there's no returning
He feels hard tugs pulling him down, he feels like he is burning
Yet inside he’s cold, the pains untold, he hears a call confirming
The devil’s come to claim his soul, he knows that it’s deserving

“No honey I am right here! Don't you pick up that phone!
How FOOLISH was I to ever think that I was indeed alone!
Son don't cry! Papa’s on his way, your Papa’s coming home!”
But they don’t hear, of this he knows, he’s truly on his own

“Get me out of this hellish place, I wish to see my family
A second chance is all I ask, I wish to go live happily!
I knew about confessions but I didn't know the gravity.”
All in vain though are his screams, now this is his reality.

He sees his body carried off, and all things fade to black
His mind repeats it’s not a dream, and there’s no going back
No longer was there a barrier fending off demons attacks
He feels the pain of everyone, his burdens only stack

The wailing echos of those he loved are trapped inside his mind
The pain he sought to strangle now has only multiplied
Eternal tortures, unceasing horrors that words cannot describe
Both mentally and physically, there is no place to hide

The story carries on and on, describing time in hell
Such horrors that I can’t describe, nor will I ever tell
There is no story in which a man can bid his life farewell
Instant regret, much like cement, traps you inside a cell

Dear readers, I beg thee now to take away this lesson:
No matter what your stance may be, you will find success in
Simply taking one deep breathe, and let slip your confession
This little act can lend relief and chip away at depression

I know it’s hard, I’ve been there too, but you’re a work of art
It sounds cliche, and that’s okay, just know inside your heart
We are all loved, no matter what, each failure’s a new start
Don’t forsake it all for Satans call, don’t let life fall apart
This poem is based on a real-life event when my neighbor committed suicide, hanging himself in the closet of his father's house. He had a wife and young son. We were good friends with the father, and I hope this poem really puts into light the consequences of suicide. I think sometimes people get lost in their own misfortune and sufferings that they are blind to what they have, what they can gain, and the pain they would pass on to everyone around them should they choose to end the only life they will ever get.
Still carry on
Find the energy in you
To continue to learn
Keep pushing on through
It all comes from within
Knowledge is power
Educate your mind
Be the one to prosper
The sky appears
as an enormous
blue and white porcelain
China tea ***
the celestial hand of
Lord Buddha
pours happiness
into my heart
koi fish prance in
coral pink circles
prayer wheels hum

and

Life goes on.....
Zia Mar 2020
you came
you saw
and you left

i cried
i stayed
and i conquered
Ballerina butterflies
flutter joyously
orbiting each other
in ruffled orange tutus

Tinkly, melodious
piano notes of
Swan Lake drift
from the ice cream van
parading down
our avenue

Pirouetting in the
steamy Florida air
they embrace briefly
giving a tiny imperceptible
kick of their
black slippered feet
before wafting in
myriad directions
wings far-flung....

Sheer happiness
lives in their dance
I watch with delight
resting on my
ebony walking cane
as they soon disappear
into a neighbor's
small mango grove
Just keep at it
Let those words flow
Be the encouraging voice
That teaches the little ones to strive for more
Always be that mentor
Who is sincere
Make your presence felt
Just always be there
Everyday is a struggle
The lessons are there
We must live life more carefully
In order to conquer
Things are not always golden
We may sadly have to deal with corruption and strife
We remove ourselves from those shadows
In order to find the light
So close to You
No breath between us
exists

A shadow arcs
dark and empty
Illumined fiercely
By Your brilliance

A heart broken
and shattered
reflects Your face
In every jagged
fragment

I can never leave You
You can never leave me

Beloved
our fates are sealed
on the Scrolls
of Forever
I spread my floral rose
and green leaf sheet
on the emerald shore

Divine mother it's been
quite a while since
I visited You
Here I Am
Your little mermaid

The beach is practically empty
one lone fisherman
hoists his fishing pole
into the sea
flocks of seagulls
skirt close to his head
a sandpiper dips
his beak like a pole
Into the burgeoning
white billows

Good morning seagulls, pelicans
denizens of the sea
this morning I'm an ocean creature too!
Always stay determined
And never ever quit
Continue to give it your all
Be fierce bit by bit
You can do it
Have the courage and strength
Show your gratitude
Lift your head up and do your best
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