Why Keep On Living? ....[LONG; Personal; End-of-Life Choices]
This may not my typical poem be... because
I don't plan to use much rhyming.... you wait and see!
As my wife is away in Japan
and I hold down the fort....
watering plants, doing outdoor chores, paying bills....
I ask myself.....again...why keep living?
It's kind of a depressing question as it implies
that I don't enjoy life enough to want to keep living
or I feel there is a good reason to die.
Neither position is exactly what's in my mind.
It's not that I feel any god-commanded mandate,
or even, exactly, a human mandate to keep living....
though I have been coerced by both my daughter
and my wife to stay alive for now.
(Shannon wants her as-yet-unborn children to 'know' me;
my wife wants to die before I do; I'm not sure why.)
I'm 61 and relatively healthy. My wife encourages good health. I don't WANT to die, exactly, though there are times
when I think death would be 'nice'.
Death could be 'easier' than living.
I sometimes say I feel I use too many resources, etc..
(my wife says I eat too much.)
Call me 'lazy' if you will. …..I sometimes (rarely)
lie in bed on my back, feel exceptionally relaxed,
and think…..
‘if death were like this I would welcome it.'
[And maybe it is.]
Don't get my wrong. I have a good life as lives go.
I feel 'blessed' to be: male, white, a 'good' height
and weight (I think) , modestly attractive, healthy,
raised Christian (though no longer) , heterosexual,
financially secure, Anglo-Saxon, 'middle (lower) class',
relatively intelligent, living in America, and having
(I think) good common sense. I had a safe,
educated upbringing. I have a lovely and loving daughter.
And, most of all, I have a lovely and loving wife.
Not that I feel being 'male, white' etc. makes
me 'better' than other people. I DON'T! Really.
But, given my surroundings, I believe the above
conditions have been advantageous for my life …..
for my comfort, well-being....whatever one calls it.
So why would I even consider ending my life voluntarily?
Good question! !
Well....from time to time since I was in my twenties
I have had moments of mild depression....[nothing to seek medical help for you understand....
Thank God! ....even though I don't believe in God;
I don't really not believe in God either. Growing up
going to church and Sunday school was pleasant
enough usually....especially the candy for kids at X-mas eve church services! ]
The 'mild depression' would come at times when I
had no female partner with whom I could share...share life, share meals, share bedtime, etc..
At other times I've gotten depressed when a relationship
I'm in seems to be crumbling. Oh no!
'I'm not accepted for what I am (an imperfect man...is that redundant?) .;
Where do I go from here? ; I could be lonely again.;
I really want a woman to love me and be loved, albeit 'imperfectly', by me.'
SO, at times depression brought on by 'insufficient' love has
made me doubt the worth of continued living.
Also, within the last 10 to15 years, I have had
environmental doubts about the worth of continuing to live.
There are too many people on earth for the available
resources to sustain them in a comfortable fashion.
OR...the resources are not divided in such a way to
provide a comfortable life for all.
People are living too long! ! (read on)
'Doom and gloom' in the news, casts doubt on the future of mankind.
'Global warming', war, disease, hunger, crime,
bankruptcy, foreclosures, pollution, joblessness, terrorism,
lack of healthcare, unwed mothers (and fathers) ,
adult-children and grandchildren moving
in with parents and grandparents, religious + ethnic strife ….
NEED I say more? Not that these events are ALL new to mankind.
I have led a pretty good and complete life.
Now my main reasons for living are to share life with my wife
and to try to help others in small ways.....
as a financial supporter of 'worthy causes',
as a friend to some people as lucky as I am, and
as a friend to some others who are less-advantaged.
I like to think when my body dies I die completely
except as a memory in some peoples' minds,
and perhaps as part of someone else's body through organ/tissue donation..
I do feel, or like to think that, some people will miss me ….
some might even be saddened for more than a day if I were to die.
But I believe those people would be few and far between.
And I feel they should be able to do fine without me in time.
(and my insurance beneficiaries would prosper)
(9-2-2009)
3
poem by Bri Edwards
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
All The World
All the world's forgiving the change is all around
And people everywhere have seen the light in what they've found
It's a happy place in the human race
When all our lives are lived forgiving
All the world's for living when love is what you find
Despair and loneliness you've got to leave them far behind
Tell the clouds to go let the feeling show
It's great when life is full of living
Everyone's aware they know to change the world we've got to care
And people all should know should have happened long ago
Or could it be that I just now found out
Life is meant to share and it means the same thing everywhere
Living everyday, helping people on their way
Cause sometimes life gives everyone some doubts
Can I have time? Is it right what I feel?
At times I doubt what I normally know is real
But right now I don't know what to do
And it's all because of you
I could tell you if I knew that you'd believe
As slight and elusive as life sometimes is
Right or wrong as we both know we all can be
I could never have denied that I need you by my side
'Cause without you life don't seem that much to me
I can see an old man cry, it's his time to die
And life no longer gives him any breaks
He hasn't got a home, no one to call his own
Still he tells no one that it is more than he can take
When the time is so unkind, an empty future plays in your mind
When the darkness cries out to you, can you escape it?
What can you do?
All the world's forgetting the hate that filled our hearts
The times of selfish reasoning that keeps all apart
This world was meant to share, let them know you care
By making someone's life worth living
All the world's believing that this felling's got to stay
till all the world is living
till all the world is giving
till all the world is loving every day
song performed by by Kansas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lost and Confuse In My Thoughts
i see guys as just wanting one thing,
sex,
it's seem to be all they think about,
and all they want from a girl,
don't know why i continue to punish myself,
i know i don't deserve this,
but at the same time,
i love the high that i get,
maybe that why i'm not relationship materal,
i can't handle being with just one guy,
i need to feel alive in the relationship,
and just having that one that cares for me,
start to feel suffocating at times,
they know all about you,
your good and your bad,
well i even share that much,
at times i feel like i'm living,
two different lives,
one where i be this perfect girlfriend,
nothing bothers me,
i know what i want kind of person,
than the other life is,
i'm anything you like,
personality and all,
i become there dream girl,
transform into what guys like,
the dream world seems so much better than reality,
reality has too many problems,
i hate being this girl,
i feel like a girl that got lost,
when she was trying to find her way through life,
confused, lonely, used,
what more can i add,
this don't feel like living,
but i'm so numb,
i don't even know what to feel,
and yet it's a life, i continue to live,
it feels normal,
how do you learn to love,
when feeling certain emotions feel wrong,
i feel like i'm broken,
and nobody can put me back together.
poem by Mona Martinez
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I Am Not Sorry No She Said
I am not sorry no she said
That my ex son in law is dead
He gave to my daughter a hard life
And she to him was a good wife.
It may seem a callous thing of me to say
That I'm not sorry he's out of the way
For without him my daughter will survive
And in fact I'd like to think she'll thrive.
And though I feel her years with him were wasted years
My daughter sheds her grief in tears
To him she was a good wife and a good friend
And she stayed with him right to the end.
Whatever in him did she see
I find it way far beyond me
For to understand the workings of humanity
For they were different as can be.
She said as for myself I've been lucky in life
Lucky to be a good man's wife
But our daughter good of heart and kind
In love and marriage happiness failed to find.
Her feelings she is not afraid to own
When she said the rudest man that I've ever known
And I am not sorry no she said
That my ex son in law is dead.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Wedding Band
Joey Wedding Band
JoAnn was the birth name of my wife
To me Joey was her name for a lot of our married life
One of the best things anyone could ask for in life
Is to have a good and loving wife
When it comes time for me to pass no matter day or night
I hope and pray that my wife will be my guiding light
I did not complement my wife as much as I could of
But with all my heart I gave her my love
My wife is in heaven watching over our family
Hoping we could be the best we could be
I am now living by myself and on my own
I have my dogs and my family but I feel alone
I never thought I knew how bad pain could ever be
Until my wife died and left me
At times my wife lets me know she is near
She turns off the picture frame to let me know she is here
On a chain around my neck I wear my wife’s wedding band
I also still wear mine on the finger of my left hand
To anyone who reads this poem do not let the time with your family go
Everything is gone before you know
poem by Michael Gelb
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Willing To Share
Men will not care what you know, if God’s love you don’t show,
Showing His love in all you do, as His Spirit works through you,
While living for God in this life, truly showing the Love of Christ,
Showing others you truly care, by stepping out for Him to share,
This as you share resources with, others through your loving gift.
When the Lord blesses you, you can share that blessing through,
The reaching out to others who, aren’t as blessed as me and you,
Willing for God, to pay the cost, by extending love to others lost,
Knowing Him, Who paid the price, our life too, can be a sacrifice,
Sharing what Christ has given us, shouldn’t become a major fuss.
For all we have, was given by, the One who came, to earth to die,
The pattern for both you and me, so His Love is what people see,
So gifts of help may open the door, to share the Gift of our Lord,
As we help others in many ways, giving to Him the ultimate praise,
Willing to share, as living proof, we want to share The Living Truth.
Although God’s Truth may offend, we must be to all, a real friend,
Let the love of God abound, to share the Truths of God we found,
For all need God’s Living Bread; without it, they’re spiritually dead,
Separated from God, Eternally, so Eternal Truth, they need to see,
So when given a chance in this life, we need to share Jesus Christ.
(Copyright ©05/2009)
If There Is A God That God
If there is a God That God is not for you and yours alone God is for everyone
And for every man and woman and their daughter and their son
When you say God is for you and all of your religion it shows how arrogant you must be
God is in every good living Human Being that's how it would seem to me
A true God would embrace good living people of all religions and all good living non believers as well
The people you have condemned in words to an afterlife of hell,
You do seem so judgemental and in your thinking you seem small
If there is not a God for every good Human Being there is not a God at all
People like you are not in minority and that does seem sad to say
And meeting you and your kind never seems to make my day
To the religious fundamentalists of the World you and your kind belong
But suppose if you think you must be right then you cannot be wrong
If there is a God that God does not live remote from the World of Humankind
And in every good living Human Being that God lives in their mind.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Spirit Of Freedom
(realising the new world)
I know instinctively
When something is right
With no one there to save me
You came into my life
The words you whispered
Still echo in my mind
Forget about tomorrow
Forget about time
So good to be alive and touch
The spirit of freedom - in your soul
So good to breathe the air and
Feel that life is worth living
Theres no time to waste in this life
Theres no time at all
So good to see the truth and touch
The spirit of freedom
I never thought that
I could ever feel this way
To see the warmest sunlight
On a cold and rainy day
Dawn wakes the silence
And I know that I cant wait
To hear the words
I wanna say again and again
So good to be alive and touch
The spirit of freedom - in your soul
So good to breathe the air and
Feel that life is worth living
Theres no time to waste in this life
Theres no time at all
Theres no time to waste in this life
Theres no time at all
So good to be alive and touch
The spirit of freedom - in your soul
So good to breathe the air and
Feel that life is worth living
Theres no time to waste in this life
Theres no time at all
So good to be alive and touch
The spirit of freedom - in your soul
song performed by by Uriah Heep
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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On The Passing Of Lizzie Hickey
I've heard of the passing of Lizzie Hickey a long life on this Earth she did enjoy
And she now lives on in another atmosphere for good people such as she will never die
Yes she lives on somewhere in the hereafter for the reaper never lays claim to the soul
And she is one I always will remember when back the lanes of memory I will stroll.
A Faithful wife to the late Johnny Hickey she raised four children Donal, Joan, John Francis and Jane
And she was a role model and a mentor and marvellous memories of her I retain
I felt saddened at the news of her passing but time 'twould seem for anyone doesn't wait
And we ought not to mourn Lizzie Hickey but her marvellous life we ought to celebrate.
There was so much to like about that woman a great role model to us school going boys
We admired her for her great depth of knowledge so down to earth and yet so very wise,
She was one of the most likeable people and in her kind heart there was so much good
And in her life she never made an enemy and she would only help you if she could.
I heard of the passing of Lizzie Hickey she now is living in a better place
At Inchaleigh close to the Town of Millstreet in our young years her's was a familiar face
She only left her soul elsewhere is living that part of her is never going to die
And in that Land that we know as the hereafter her new life she's beginning to enjoy.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Good Friendship
In friendship lies, life’s beauty prime –
A bond that stands the test of time,
And withstands every change of clime.
Good friendship makes life worth living;
Than taking, life is in giving –
The crux of friendship, worth telling!
Our earthly life would be a bore,
Without good friendship at its core:
That takes each person to the fore!
Though parents care for their children,
And relatives for kith and kin,
Yet, friends usher on earth, heaven!
Happy the ones, who have good friends!
Their worries in life, almost ends:
In need, good friend always attends.
And without friends, life could be sad,
And make all events, pretty bad,
And turn some persons, almost mad!
Good friends are rarely found in life,
And help you timely in your strife –
Some turning husband or your wife!
Nurture good friendship if you can;
Essential are friends good, man:
Those add spice to your earth’s life-span.
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-28-2008
poem by John Celes
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Thru The Eyes Of A Spouse
I recall the nights that I laid in bed
With the pillow propped under my head.
Looking at this woman lying next to me
And how our love came to be.
Problems we have had our share
But for each other we’ve always been there.
Life makes love difficult to cope with
It pulls and yanks at your heart
Trying to tear the walls apart.
You struggle every day to make a life
You just want things easier for you and your wife.
There are times you feel like you’re drowning
And gasping for air, and people
see you but they don’t care.
They are going thru life the same as you
And they don’t know just what to do.
So you resign yourself to the fact
That the clock, you can not turn back.
So you pick up your head and look
Deep into the eyes of your wife
And thank GOD that you have someone
With whom to share your life.
The beauty and love in her eyes
Never seem to fade away
And it gets stronger every passing day.
poem by Louis Rams
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This Is For My Wife On Our Special Day (Italian Sonnet)
This is for my wife on our special day
It's been twenty years since we first met
I wasn't sure if it was a good bet
I didn't know if things would be okay
Now it's our anniversary I say
Little did I know I'd end up in debt
That happens when you buy all you can get
Sooner or later you will have to pay
Living alone can lead to depression
Lonesomeness is so hard for one to bear
At times I feel like pulling out my hair
I'll confess that its symptoms are no fun
I surround myself with people who care
It is so lonely being number one
poem by Edwin Tanguma
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Sun Goes Down (Livin' It Up)
Though I live on the edge time is on my side
all the doors to my life are open wide
just as long as the wheels keep on turning 'round
I will live for the groove 'til the sun goes down
living it up, living it up
I can feel it
living it up
is it a crazy notion?
living it up, living it up
I can feel it
living it up
I got forward motion
I don't wanna go to war, I don't wanna go to war
I said I know what I want and I don't wanna go war - do you follow me?
I saw a soldier standing in a bar
looked so tired he'd come so far
he said "I need to love someone, before they drop the atom bomb"
there's a girl at the back making eyes at me
and her hair long and black is a sight to see
but I get kind of scared when love's around
I just live for the groove 'til the sun goes down
living it up, living it up
I can feel it
living it up
is it a false emotion?
living it up, living it up
I can feel it
living it up
I got forward motion
so I'm a-taking you out but I'm a-faking
I'm married to the beat
but to the music I gave the heart I could have given you
still there's something 'bout the way that you move
and the way that people stare it's the shock of the new
I want my friends to see me standing next to you
the sun goes down . . .
time is on my side
I don't care what they say I'll enjoy the ride
but I get kind of scared when I turn around
so I'll stay with the groove 'til the sun goes down
living it up
living it up
I can feel it
living it up
I got forward motion
ooh - watch her dance
there must be one like her in every club in every town
but I don't mind if that the way she wants to be
there's something 'bout her that reminds me of me
she's my soulmate - we'll be together 'til the sun goes down
the sun goes down
living it up
living it up
I can feel it
living it up
I got forwand motion
song performed by by Level 42
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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New Generation Marriage Vows Are Gone
New generation marriage vows are gone (11/2/11)
This is the first day of your new life
This is the day you chose to be his wife.
You both feel that your love is strong enough
That a marriage you could share
And for each other you would always be there.
A marriage are vows that are made to each other
That you will always “ love one another”.
You say you will love each other until death do you part
Is it what you feel? Is it really in your heart?
The vows of marriage has changed drastically
Marriage is not - what it used to be.
Fear of the unknown has changed the way you think
Six out of ten marriages are now on the brink.
Living common law is now the new rage
They don’t want to feel like they’re
Locked up in a cage.
It’s easy to walk away from a relationship
If there are no vows.
And if there’s any children, they’ll survive somehow.
We don’t need a marriage certificate to
Have a sexual affair.
We can change partners, and different beds we can share.
This is the thinking of the youth of today
All our teachings and values have all gone astray.
poem by Louis Rams
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I Don't Think So
I Don't Think So
We've been through this time together
AlI in my mind the love was so alive
Oh I never wanted for another
Then I saw the beginnings of a Iie
Good times and the bad times
Through the good times and the bad times with me
Good times and the bad times
Yeah I wonder why I never see
Good times and the bad times
Oh maybe there was always something wrong
Good times and the bad times
Did l wait too long
Chorus:
You said you'd love me for all of your life
I don't think so
Through the best of the best and the worst of the times
I don't think so
You said the world was a beautiful place
l don't think so
You swore the love was perfectly sale
I don't think so
People can only stay together
If in their hearts they know they can say what's on their minds
Would you say
Good times and the bad times
If it can't really be then I gotta move on
Good times and the bad times
Is it really time
Chorus: (repeat)
Said the check's in the mail and the maiI's on time
I don't think so
Said out of touch ain't out of mind
I don't think so
Couldn't live without me, and that's a fact
I don't think so
Love is real and it's not an act
I don't think so
Come on
Good times and the bad times
I don't think so
Good times and the bad times
Baby our love was a beautiful thing
I don't think so
Good times and the bad times
You said you'd love me for all of your life
I don't think so
Good times and the bad times
Through the best of the best and the worst of times
I don't think so
l don't think so baby oh baby oh baby come on
I don't think so
The love was right but the loving was wrong
song performed by by Hall & Oates
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Lonely Wife
A lonely Wife
Nice words said, sweet words spoken
Such a deep feeling love, or words just a token
She's comfortable with him, he's so good to her
She thinks it's love, a companion for life
She thought love would last, when he made her his wife
She has the whole world at her feet, she has nothing to fear anymore
No one screaming at her, no one beating her or knocking her to the floor
This must be the way love is meant to be
This is what marriage is like, she is finally free
Why does she find herself so sad and lonely
He loves her, she pledged her life to him only
What's wrong with her, she has everything
His loving her without showing it doesn't mean anything
She will continue life forever, as it stands
She has it so good now, living her life in his hands
She will never speak up about how she feels
With his kindness and love, she still heals
poem by Donna Nimmo
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The Meaning Of Life Is Unique To Us All
When I was five I wanted to be ten,
How I longed to be a young man,
My mind would wander every now and then,
I wanted to be in the grown ups clan.
When I reached ten I thought of being twenty,
By then I'd be driving my car,
Time for the future, well I still had plenty,
Getting older was a distance too far.
Now I've hit twenty I've nothing to fear,
Time goes past so very slow,
I'm still a young man so I've nothing to fear
I've still got a long time to go.
Thirty years old and it's still not too bad,
I've a wife and children I love,
My health is good I love being a Dad,
My life is a gift from above,
The big four zero has finally come,
I now watch, as my parents grow frail,
The thought of that is making me feel numb,
To prevent it should be our holy grail.
I'm now in my fifties my children have flown,
This life can be really quite strange,
Back when I was five I wish I had known,
Growing older you cannot exchange.
Be careful what you wish for it may come true,
Take your time for life is too short,
Enjoy every minute, age you cannot subdue,
When young the facts you distort.
I'm now in my eighties how I wish I were five,
My time here has just flown by,
All those I loved would still be alive,
Now their memories still make me cry.
The moral is don't wish your life away,
Treat each living second as your last,
Enjoy your years every glorious day,
For in the blink of an eye it has passed.
Scientists spend billions asking why we exist,
Look outside, what you see will enthrall,
It is solely for living is the point they've all missed,
‘‘ The Meaning Of Life Is Unique To Us All ‘'
Depression 1
depression is loving someone with nothing in return,
depression is slowly living instead of jumping head first,
depression is acknowledging the mistake but without learning,
depression is not trying, giving into your life's curse.
depression is cutting and cutting thinking you cant stop,
depression is staying quiet thinking no-one will care,
depression is floating around with the desire to drop,
depression is ignoring the people who always seem to be there.
depression is trying to end the life you've been given,
depression is watching other people watch you,
depression is giving up instead of being hard driven,
depression is depression, do you feel it too?
poem by Tashi Coote
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Two Different People
Two different people
Black people, white people
Black world, White world
A black person thinks different from the white people
White people thinks highly of himself
White people works very hard for his living
Black's are lazy
They don't want to work, they just want the money
You have to work for the money, they just don't get it
White people knows that there are no free ride in life
Black's want a free ride, there are no free ride in life
Nothing is free in life except for the air that you breathe
The white people have to be careful of what they say to the black People
Whatever you say to the black people if they don't like it they will say it Is discrimination
We can't understand them
They have a mind of their own
The white people are loving and caring
What about the black people?
Not a hope in hell
I don't want any part of the black world
The black world is not safe for me
So I rather stay in my white world where I feel safe
We can't trust them
The reason why there is violence in this world is because the black People cause it
Now they don't like it because they have to live with it
We want a safe world for our people
The black people don't care about it because the only thing they know And seen is violence
There is too much violence on TV
They like it
They like the feeling of danger
We white don't like the feeling of danger
The blacks hate the white people and the white people don't like them Either
The white people knows when to shut up
The black people never knows when to shut up
There is why there are always problem with them
They make life miserable for us
The white people will always be a good friend
The black people can never be your friend
They will take everything they can get from you for free
poem by Aldo Kraas
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Living & Living Well
Had a nice little life
A little boat a little beach
A little routine I liked
A blue ocean view
Free to go with the flow
Anywhere that I wanted to
But the moment you set foot on my shore
Thats when I knew
Theres a difference in
Living and living well
You cant have it all
All by yourself
Somethings always missing
til you share it with someone else
Theres a difference in living and living well
til you smiled with me
Thought that I had it good
As good as it could be
From the back of my deck
Caught a fish caught a breeze
And a thousand red sunsets
But sitting here with you girl I just saw
The best one yet
Theres a difference in
Living and living well
You cant have it all
All by yourself
Somethings always missing
til you share it with someone else
Theres a difference in living and living well
My days are brighter
My sky a deeper blue
My nights are sweeter
When Im with you
Theres a difference in
Living and living well
You cant have it all
All by yourself
Somethings always missing
til you share it with someone else
Theres a difference in living and living well
song performed by by George Strait
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Depression Is
Depression is when your sad and alone
Depression is when you can't do it anymore
Depression is when all you do is cry non stop and no one cares
Depression is when all you think about is ending your life and giving up
Depression is a life full of hell and heartache
Depression is not a good way to live but when you deal with it all your life like I do it just makes your life miserable and a hell hole
Depression makes you want to cut up your arms, legs, and whole body and watch the blood pour out to make it feel good in life
Everything I go through since I was born makes me have depression and only gets worse as life goes on
Sometimes I get so sick of the depression it just makes me want to end it all and wonder if i'm better off dead
In general depression will never go away, you'll have it all your life regardless
poem by Krystal Shearer
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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