When Society Forces You to Choose

If you or anyone you know is thinking of suicide, there is help out there for you. Please call The Suicide Prevention Help-line on 1-800-273-8255.

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This piece is part of a special Mental Health collaborative series by the Saloon for Writers Group on Facebook.

You can find more of the Poems from the series here:

Poem 1: by Oreldolapo A. Roberts/ Poem 2: by Angela Derscha/ Poem 3: by Sofia Duarte/ Poem 4: Talia Devora/ Poem 5 by: Thorn Everbloom/ Poem 6: by Oneg in The Artic. Enjoy.

1.

Face that tells the story of a thousand lives destroyed

Face scarred with those painful questions you’ve spent your whole life trying to avoid

Country forcing you to answer why You Are Who You are.

You make as many excuses, to get

Sympathy, give your potential that

Life-saving bit if Empathy

But will that be Enough, to let you exist!

2.

Run, my heart and mind said run

But honestly who was I running from

As I had to face Me

Face my reality, My Skin

This life I didn’t ask for but am completely trapped in

Bottle of Tablets on the floor

My almost lifeless body on a stretcher

Trying to escape this soul crushing picture

Of what this society is forcing to say

I am not that way, I can be fixed

Surviving my stomach being pumped

I catch my 1st breath back to life

Screaming enough is enough.....is enough

3.

I am who I am, and I will not apologise

Any longer

No more self- inflicted torture trying to

Fit whatever sick & twisted future you

Believe You have the right to lay out for Me

I will never hand You that power again

Free, I am finally........Free!

Ain’t no pleasing or appeasing You

So I am just gonna have to do Me

Who I am and what I am does not have

To be defined by who I love

How I do that is not for You to chose

Down My throat, your Opinions shoved.

4.

You don’t get to force Me to take My life,

Or pick the side filled with ignorance

And pride then turn around & call that love

Help me navigate life and make sensible choices

Don’t drown me out, or kick me out

Because I’m not one of your programmed voices

I’ve bled enough and died too many times to be able to clearly see

No matter how much I would want to

Change to please You

I can only be Me .......[End.]