Suicide Prevention Month
Published: August 30, 2021
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It's a month dedicated to raising awareness about suicide and sharing hope for those affected by it. It's a month to help destigmatize this widespread and heartbreaking topic.
Often, people don't want their lives to end; they just wish the pain they're experiencing in life would end. Life can become overwhelming for people of all ages. Unfortunately, according to the National Alliance on Mental Health, suicide is the second leading cause of death of people ages 10-34.
Suicide has a far-reaching effect. When someone chooses to end his or her life, the people connected to that person are left to grieve. Many times, they also live with guilt and have questions that will never be answered.
We hope that by shedding light on this topic through poetry, people can see that they're not alone. May we come together and help those who are hurting -- both the people experiencing suicidal thoughts and those who have lost loved ones to suicide.
Many people have felt hopeless at some point. You are not alone. This is not a battle you have to fight by yourself. Let’s encourage one another.
If you are hurting, please reach out to someone. If you feel like you are drowning with everything happening around you and you wonder how you will go on, there are people who want to help. If you have been thinking about ending your life, we urge you to reach out. In the United States, you can contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. There is hope!
32 Poems Raising Awareness About Suicide
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1. Just Wait For The Sun
in Hope Poems
When everything's darkness
And you feel so alone,
When the rain doesn't stop
And you can't make it home,
When it feels all is lost
And you just want to run,
It can't rain forever.
Just wait for the sun.
When family is pain,
When friends can't be found,
When you just want to scream
But you can't find the sound,
When it's all your fault,
And you feel like you're done,
Just wait for the sun.
The sunshine will come.
The storm always passes.
It won't last forever.
The rain always stops and gives way to good weather.
The brightest and warmest of days still to come.
Please wait for the sun.
The sunshine will come.
People who need you,
People who still love you
Can warm up your soul like the sunshine above you.
You're never alone,
No matter what's done.
Wait for the sun.
Just wait for the sun.
Dark clouds always pass.
I promise you, hun.
We're all waiting with you.
Just wait for the sun.Featured Shared StoryThank you Miss Lisa Marks for sharing your beautiful poem with us. A lot of people around the globe are slipping into depression amidst the lockdown, and the ones who were suffering from it...
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2. If You Would Have Known
If you could have seen the devastation,
shattered hearts you'd leave behind,
would you still have left this world that day?
Would it have made you change your mind?
If you'd known we'd cry so violently
and struggle just to breathe,
would that have made a difference?
Would you still have chosen to leave?
You left without a warning;
you left without saying "goodbye."
You left us with only questions.
The most important one is "why?"
Why did you believe
you had to face this world alone?
Why did you suffer silently?
We would have helped if we had known.
How long had you been hurting
before deciding you were done?
I'm glad your pain has ended,
but our pain has just begun.
So when you see us start to fall apart,
when our pain is too much to bear,
please take our hands and guide us;
remind us that you're there.
Help us hold on to the part of you;
you left us with your song.
Keep playing it in heaven.
We'll write the words and sing along.Featured Shared StoryThank you so much for sharing that with me! You are never alone! And you don't have fight life's battles by yourself. Reach out to someone, anyone! There are people ready and waiting by the...
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3. Demons Of Darkness
She stood on the bridge
In silence and fear,
For the demons of darkness
Had driven her here.
They cut her heart
Right out of her chest,
Making her believe
That the demons knew best.
They were always there,
Sometimes just out of sight,
Waiting in the background
Till the time was right.
These demons were destructive,
Knocking down the life she knew,
Hating everything about her;
She hated herself, too.
These demons can't be seen,
But they're far from fairy tales.
They live inside your mind;
Their evilness prevails.
So on the bridge she stood,
About to end the fight.
Then she stopped and thought
I'll fight them one more night.Featured Shared StoryThis is such an inspiring poem. I am a seventh grader with depression and it is because of my loving boyfriend that I am still alive. Please, anyone who is depressed, know that there is...
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4. Jim
If I had reached out my hand,
Would you have taken it that day?
Could I have made you feel better?
Could I have made you okay?
Could I have pulled you away
From the dark into light?
Brought you right back to a safe place
And just held you tight?
Why didn't you shout louder?
Why couldn't we hear?
You were all alone that morning,
All alone in your fear.
I know we could have saved you
If we had just seen
You stuck in that pain and torment.
How long had it been?
Your burden you carried
In an invisible case.
You suffered in silence
With a smile on your face.
So many questions we have.
So many words unspoken.
Why didn't we know
That your life was so broken?
I miss you each day.
I try to understand your choice.
If I close my eyes, try hard,
I can still hear your voice.
I know you are free now,
Free to fly high.
I imagine I see you
When I look up to the sky.
I can't turn the clock back.
I can't change time,
But oh how I wish I could,
Sweet brother of mine.
I know you are still with us,
Watching, keeping us safe,
And one day we'll meet again
In a heavenly place.Featured Shared StoryA year ago my best friend and boyfriend killed himself. The real ache lies beneath the fact that I probably knew what was the reason and could have prevented anything from happening had I not...
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5. From Oppression Comes Light
Depression is oppression.
It's a deadly hidden message
Defined by self-hate.
It seals its prisoner's fate.
It holds you captive and throws out the key.
It stabs and jabs just to see you bleed,
Inflicting wounds that scar for life.
Destruction is its mother and death its wife.
You can cry, but it will always ignore your screams.
It terrorizes your soul and haunts your dreams.
It sends you false hope through a bottle or pill.
It destroys your goals and inflicts its will.
You can't run, nor can you hide.
By its rules you will abide
Until it celebrates that you have died.
Open your eyes, or you will be its prey.
It will blur your vision in the most twisted way.
It will seek your destruction and call for your head.
You will lie and wait but never rest in your bed.
Peace will come to those who want peace,
But as long as you feed him, you will see the beast.
You can't run, nor can you hide,
But if you conquer the beast, you will survive.
Prayer and hope can lead the way.
Cling on to every word you pray.
Hope is in truth.
Hate is in lies.
Pray for your soul and open your eyes.
Featured Shared StoryThis poem is very well written and it gave me chills because of how amazing it is. I'm going through these poems in search of one to use for prose and poetry, an academic event, i take part...
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6. Save A Life
You come to me crying, saying it's done,
That life is pointless, I shouldn't have one.
I tell you to stop, I beg and I plead.
You say the knife is your friend, it wants you to bleed.
But everyone here wants you to stay.
I'm crying, I'm shaking, please don't go away.
Life means so much; you just haven't found out.
So forget who planted that seed of doubt.
And as your knives and guns disappear,
Still know that I'll always be here.
I know what it's like, I've been through it all,
So hang on tight, I'm not gonna let you fall.
Reach for my hand, 'cause it's held out for you.
My shoulders are small, but you can cry on them too.
If you leave, you'll be missed by many,
Especially me, and I will not forget any
Of the moments we had, laughs we shared,
The times we needed each other when we were scared.
The world wouldn't be better if you left, but worse,
And so now it's time for me to reverse this curse.
I'll teach you how to save a life,
So unlike many, it won't have to end in strife.Featured Shared StoryThis poem is the poem my friend sent me when I was debating taking my life. This poem saved my life, literally. Thank you!
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7. Dancing In The Rain
You've had those feelings... you wish your life was done.
You're broken, defeated, and overcome.
Each day more challenging than the last.
Moments of weakness...emotions consistently masked.
There is sadness built up, stirring within,
Reflecting on where your life has been.
You feel alone... all you feel is pain.
Each moment a struggle masked by crying in the rain.
The storms of life will thunder, shoot lightning 'cross your face.
But get up, chin up, and win YOUR race.
You can take charge...refuse to feel defeat.
Just get up, walk out... first step's to move your feet.
Get out of the trench that you've dug for yourself.
Change what you are to improve your mental health.
There's no shame in admitting that life is harder than you can bear.
That's what friends are for...to show comfort and to care.
Don't take the world on all alone; the challenges are real.
Be willing to accept the help you need, friendship, and you'll heal.
Days will get easier; life will cease to be a strain...
Before you know it, you'll be DANCING in the rain.Featured Shared StoryBeautiful. Starting with pessimistic feelings, ending optimistically. True. Friends can change our lives for the better. Life is not to suffer, but to enjoy. How Is left to us to...
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8. Despite The Storms
in Short Poems
Despite the storms,
beauty arrives like
it was always going to.
Despite the darkness,
the light returns.
Despite your loss,
your heart will be
full again.
Despite the breaking,
your heart will feel
like it belongs in the
land of joy once more.
This is how it will
always be. Keep living.
Featured Shared StoryPart of the last line says, "Keep living." I'm saying keep writing. I like your style and sensitivity. Excellent flow and structure. I really enjoyed it.
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9. Life Is Fine
in Famous Poems
I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.
I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.
But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!
I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.
I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.
But it was High up there! It was high!
So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love—
But for livin' I was born
Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry—
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.
Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!Featured Shared StoryEveryone is born for a purpose, but we forget that in pursuit of money. Then God gifted me with poetry and uses it as a medium to educate people, and in each of my poems there is a story...
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10. Mt. Take Heart
in Hope Poems
Often we can't see
The beauty in the pain.
Often we can't see
The treasure we gain.
Often we can't see
Pain has an ending.
Often others can't see
Our hearts are breaking.
Often we just see
The mountain of blame.
Often it's a journey
Full of lies and shame.
Take heart, dear little one.
The scars will heal in time.
I know it weighs a ton,
But you'll be fine.
Listen, my love.
The mountain is strenuous.
There comes hope from above;
Take heart and be courageous.Featured Shared StoryThis poem has really taught me how to value the thing we have and the people around us. We never know what we have got until it's all gone, so be wary that you don't lose the moon while...
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11. Together
So--this is where we are.
After coming so far,
This is what it's come to.
After all we've been through,
We're still where we started:
Bruised and broken-hearted.
You'd think after fighting this long
We'd become safe and strong.
But as we battle close to death,
We're still lost and find no rest.
As we wander 'round, asking why,
There's no tears when we cry.
We're lost with only each other,
Feeling as a child without its mother.
As darkness nears closer and closer,
We fear our lives may be over.
But I caught, in the distance,
A shimmer of light, so persistent.
I grab your hand, holding tight,
As I try to lead you toward the light.
But now you've grown so heavy.
I fear you're dead already.
I can't leave you here all alone.
I have to take you back home.
So won't you please come with me
And believe that I can see
The way out, the way home?
There'll be no more wandering all alone.
So please, rise and stand.
Follow me and hold my hand,
Because together we can win.
We can find the light within.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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12. Became
He was the geeky kid, carrying all of his books,
That became a scientist who found the cure for the disease that overtook.
She was the quiet one, who was afraid no one would listen to what she had to say,
Who is now the author that writes her words for thousands to read on a page.
He was the naughty boy, whose antics were a cry for help,
That became a cop because he knows how it felt.
She was the nervous, anxious girl, who took on everyone's problems,
That wanted to help others and became a psychologist with a doctorate.
He was the kid that was always in a fight,
Who became a lawyer that wants wrong turned right.
He was the jock that was under pressure to win the game,
Who became a pastor that tells people they are more than what others say.
She was the quirky girl trying to break free from the mold,
That became the fashion designer who is known for being bold.
She was the mean girl with only ugly words to say,
Who is now an advocate for other victims in pain.
But he was the kid that faded into the background,
The one who felt alone even when there was a crowd.
The one who felt like he was gasping for air.
Even though he was drowning; people were unaware.
He was the one whose inner demon had a voice that was too loud,
That told him there was no other way out.
He's the kid I often think about,
The one whose silence should have been a reverberating volume of sound.
He is the one that we'll never know what he could have become,
Because he was the kid who found the gun.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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13. Worth
It's hard sometimes to say exactly what I'm worth.
Sometimes even harder dealing with the hurt.
To feel like no one's there during all my pain.
I have nothing left to lose and nothing left to gain.
I struggle through the days, with no one at my side,
To find some sort of worth, to save a little pride.
But all my days are dark, stormy, cold and gray,
And emptiness keeps growing as I slowly fade away.
I have no effort left to put into this life,
No helping hand behind me to pull me to the light.
So once again I ask, before I leave this Earth,
Tell me, if you care, exactly what I'm worth.Featured Shared StoryI know that my post is late, but I hope--by some miracle--you will discover it. I am much older than you, and I, too, have experienced a life that is void of human companionship. It is my...
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14. Gone Too Soon
I know you're in heaven dancing and free
but there's so much more you should be here to see.
So many things I never got to say
because I never thought that you would go away.
I never told you 'cause I thought that you knew,
but would that have changed what you planned to do?
I am glad that you are free from the fears you held inside,
but I wish you had come to me and put aside your pride.
The world is a lonelier place without you.
I guess that you thought this was all you could do.
When I see you again, I'll tell you that you were wrong
and how much I've missed you every day you've been gone.Featured Shared StoryI am so sorry that you lost someone to suicide. I know what you feel like. I have lost someone to suicide before as well, my best friend, Jami. He hung himself on October 20, 2021, at 12:30...
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15. Just The Beginning
in Short Poems
one day
it will be so clear –
what you thought
was the end,
was really
just the beginning.
Some doors are hidden
until we are ready
to open them.
Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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16. The New Me
Sometimes it gets better.
Sometimes you heal.
Sometimes my eyes get wetter
Waiting for these scars to heal.
The scars on the outer,
The scars on the inner.
I scream and I cry louder and louder.
My voice just gets tired and my lifeline much thinner.
That was the old me,
The scared me,
The dying.
That was the hurt me,
The bleeding me,
The crying.
The night that I changed is still so clear.
I swallowed those pills with not a single fear.
I stumbled and fell, but I didn't care.
No more crying, no cutting, not one more blank stare.
The pain was unbearable; what had I done?
I haven't lived yet, my life had just begun.
I awoke my guardian, to the clinic we went.
I slept off the pills and awoke to resent.
I felt so ill, inside and out.
I went to a center and learned all about
How to be fine, how to live without
The blades and the pills; it's all over now.
Meet the new me.
She's smiling but scarred.
Meet the new me.
She shoots for the stars.
Meet the new me.
She's doing fine.
Meet the new me.
She tries and she strives.
Meet the new me.
She's glad she's alive.Featured Shared StoryThat is so amazing. It really touched me because I nearly killed myself because I used to self-harm I don't do it anymore, but sometimes I'm tempted, but I get through it and you will too!...
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17. There Is Hope
in Inspirational Poems by Teens
There's this girl.
She never gives up on you.
She loves everyone the same,
Even when they don't want her to.
She's always smiling,
Giving people love,
But no one ever asks her
If she needs some cheering up.
She's secretly hurting,
But it's starting to show through.
She can't hold it in any longer.
If only she knew she didn't have to.
Her name starts with an M
And ends with an E.
She keeps on praying
That someone will see
Just how hopeless
This little girl can be.
Now that she let it out,
Now it's not locked inside.
Life is getting better.
She escaped suicide.
The light is on again.
The darkness went away.
The smile on her face is real.
She's no longer fallen astray.Featured Shared StoryThis hit me hard. I always try to make others happy, I'll smile, I'll listen, I'll make sure that they know they're loved. When it comes to myself, though, I never let anyone see how deep...
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18. Tidal Wave
In our darkest nights and our brightest days,
emotions fill us like tidal waves.
They can drag us down and pull us in,
trying to drown us from within.
They can raise us up or let us down,
but if you don't know how to swim, you'll simply drown.
There are storms across my seven seas,
lightning strikes, sharks circling me.
My legs are tired, my chest is tight.
I'm not sure how much longer I can fight.
I gasp for air, I scream and shout,
But these tidal waves try to drown me out.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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19. Feeling Blue
I suppose it's hard for some to understand.
This is not the way that I had planned.
I don't know how I've let myself get this way,
And sometimes feel like calling it a day.
But then I think of those who are close to my heart.
Ending it all would probably tear them apart,
So while I'm thinking of my dread,
I'll try and sort out this mess in my head.
Then if I find I still can't cope,
There's nothing more I can do than pray and hope
That everything will turn out right for me,
And someday I'll be as happy as I can possibly be.Featured Shared StoryThis is a really good little fun sized poem the puts the darkness of the topic into a slightly lighter-hearted, almost depressingly whimsical feel. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
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20. Zach's Poem
I wish that I could talk to you,
and beg you not to go.
I wish I asked what you were going through,
but now I'll never know.
I wish that I had some warning
of what you'd do that night,
and that you'd given me a chance to save you,
to help you make things right.
I wish that you could've soldiered on,
and worked through the pain.
If you had, I promise you,
you would've been happy one day.
I wish that the last time I saw you
I didn't rush away.
I wish that I had hugged you harder,
and told you I loved you that day.
I wish that I could bring you back
to see you one last time,
to hug you close, to hear your voice,
and then the world would be fine.
But all these things can't ever happen,
the nightmares are all about you.
There's not one thing I can change,
because these wishes will never come true.
Featured Shared StoryMy brother died on the 20th of August 2017. He hung himself. He had attempted to kill himself 2 times before that. This was the 3rd attempt. I miss him so much and wish I had responded to the...
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