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
//
We exude light
We share happiness
We express kindness
//
We carry darkness
It bolsters itself inside of us
When we are weak it seeps and spreads
//
Overflowing receptacles of darkness
Duty bound to contain the oppressive weight we hold
Unleashed when we can no longer carry on
//
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
//
A casket is a far weaker container of darkness
Once unrestrained it darkens those which lightened us the most
About the Creator
W. Joe O'Banion
Proud father of two, married to my best friend, and I write to cope with being a human.
Comments (1)
I wrote hundreds of poems about darkness inside us, but this poem sums it up the best. Thank you!