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Open Poetry #6
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Night Falls Fast...............a repost
| Open Poetry #6 |
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Night Falls Fast...............a repost |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA 
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(I am reposting this due to the fact that yet another employee in the hospital I work at commited suicide two nights ago...please take the time to read the statistics at the end of this and learn the signs. If anyone has contemplated anything like this...please find someone to talk to, if you have no one, please e-mail me) Night falls fast and days fading light casts shadows across the worn table where reflections dance in a tumbler of warm vodka. Multicolored pills lie scattered around as if a rainbow crashed to the ground leaving remnants in its wake. One harsh, final breath is ripped, in agonizing labor, from a chest that rises for the last time then stills. Silence rings through the room as darkness descends. Night falls fast... but for those left behind, daylight never comes. Some startling statistics on suicide in the US: ~Over half a million people a year attempt suicide seriously enough to require a trip to the emergency room ~Every 17 minutes someone succeeds in taking his or her own life ~Only 2-3% of all suicides occur among people with terminal illness ~Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the US among 15-19 years and college students ~1 in 10 college students and 1/5 of all high school students seriously consider committing suicide ~1 out of every 10 high school students admits to having attempted suicide Suicide is a serious problem nation wide, but one we can all help do something about. Learn the warning signals and recognize them in friends and family and most importantly...offer and seek help for them before it’s too late. The poet's job is to put into words those feelings we all have that are so deep, so important, and yet so difficult to name, to tell the truth in such a beautiful way that people cannot live without it. ~Jane Kenyon |
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| © Copyright 2000 Ruth Kephart - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Sad sigh--Ruth for the senselessness of lost life and the pain that brings it about |
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Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA |
Thank you for posting this, Ruth. It is such a senseless thing to throw away the only life we will ever know for nothing. For every person committing suicide, there are thousands begging to be allowed to live. Such a waste..... Excellent poem.. |
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Ravenlearns2fly Member
since 2000-02-28
Posts 71 |
Sad I am to think at 1 time that could of been me. Your words reach out to all, As I am sure your heart does to. If not 4 souls like yours that reach out to others with kindness so many more would die. Raven Legros |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
This is so very tragic, Ruth.  Denise |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Thank you for reposting this..and for the information. I'm so sorry that you and your coworkers have to deal with this. My heart goes out to the family of the person who committed suicide.... so sad. |
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wildbill58 Junior Member
since 2000-02-26
Posts 19 |
sorry to hear about that,hoot |
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Marge Tindal 
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
Hoot~ Again so sad that family and friends are left with this loss and trauma. My heart is with the family and with you as you all work through this sorrow. Love you ~*Marge*~ ~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~ [email protected] |
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Severn Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704 |
I remember this Ruth...how utterly distressing. Hugs K 'Writing sharpens life; life enriches writing' Sylvia Plath |
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Corinne Member Ascendant
since 1999-10-28
Posts 5167state of confusion |
hoot, a strong message here that needs to be reaffirmed again and again. Thanks for reminding us how precious life is. Cor |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Just a word of thanks to everyone for reading this and commenting. His memorial service is today, he was only in his 40's It's such a shame that people come to a point where they reach this level of despiration, if only they would reach out to someone instead of bearing their burdens alone. |
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Alwye
Moderator
Member Elite
since 1999-06-16
Posts 3850In the space between moments |
Deeply tragic, hoot..It is indeed a horrible thing to hear of so many taking their lives.. *Krista Knutson* ~*Only when trudging through the soul's darkest midnight can one truly appreciate the glory of the sunrise*~ |
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Butterflies_dont_cry Member Elite
since 2000-03-06
Posts 3733Michigan |
Problems are often much smaller when you share them with someone, but you often forget that when YOU are the one with the problem. So sorry Hoot about your loss and to the family your friend. |
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lucky Senior Member
since 2000-01-17
Posts 1601Idaho |
Oh Dearest Heart: Thank kyou for the remembrance of a friend so dear. My best friend of 20 years or more took his own life not to long ago. In the time we knew each other we stole each other’s lovers and lived through more than words could ever express. He never really left any clue for a reason except for this poem written by his own hand as his good-bye. I still find myself blaming myself for all the childish mistakes and mishaps. Perhaps you could check out our newest site God Bless You, The Keeper Bridge People As we walk alone, looking at the ground Does anyone see us, in this cold, lonely town? The eyes that don’t see us, even tho’ they stare. A dumpster for dinner A bridge for a home A great crowd of people Yet we’re still all alone. So onward I travel, I wonder how far A curse born forever under a wondering star. This was found in his pocket... (Stephen Llewellyn Sadler) Nov. 19th. 1955 - Nov. 23rd. 1995 An victim of suicied A Day Of Sunshine O gift of God! O perfect day: Whereon shall no man work, but play; Whereon it is enough for me, Not to be doing, but to be! Through every fibre of my brain, Through every nerve, through every vein, I feel the electric thrill, the touch Of life, that seems almost to much. I hear the wind among the trees Playing celestial symphonies; I see the branches downward bent, Like keys of some great instrument. And over me unrolls on high The splendid scenery of the sky, Where through a sapphire sea the sun Sails like a golden galleon, Towards yonder cloud-land in the west, Towards yonder Islands of the Blest, Whose steep sierra far uplifts Its craggy summits white with drifts. Blow, winds! and waft through all the rooms The snowflakes of the cherry-blooms! Blow, winds! and bend within my reach The fiery blossoms of the peach! O life and love! O happy throng Of thoughts, whose only speech is song! O heart of man! canst thou not be Blithe as the air is, and as free? (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) I Am a Part I am a part of all that I have been; The hawthorn’s shade, the robin’s wistful note, I have the bitter berries in my heart, The robin’s happy message in my throat. Just as a tree is part of all the sun That ever shone upon its smallest leaf, So is my heart a living manuscript Of all that I have known of joy or grief. I am the laughter of the waking spring, The pulse-beat in the root below the ground, The small hands of a vine against a wall, A clump of caressing willows closely bound. I am part of all the friends I’ve known The love I’ve shared, their laughter and their tears, The seeking and the finding of a dream, The braggart’s boasting and the widow’s fears. I am a part of all that I have been. The years have multiplied the bread and wine; The harvest waits beyond the river’s brim Where all that I have lost is truly mine. (Edna Jaques) |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Thank you Alwye and butter flies don't cry Lucky...I am sorry for your loss and thank you for the nice reply and the poetry  |
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