"Suicide Note" by Janice Mirikitani

https://tigerenglish.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/suicide-note-janice-mirikitani.pdf 

     When I was an undergraduate at Penn State it seemed that near the end of every quarter a student would jump off one of the new high-rise apartment complexes because of bad grades. In the early 1990s, the US Armed Forces noticed a disturbing spike in the number of GIs who took their lives. As a Pennsylvania Guard Chaplain, I was mandated to teach Suicide Prevention Classes. My battalion command resisted, but I was pressured by the senior chaplains. Fortunately, my stock was high in the battalion, and I managed to get the classes in. At two of the five sessions, Soldiers spoke about their personal connections to suicide; one even showed the scars on his wrists.

    The pandemic has not helped matters, especially for young people. Three of my students took their lives before the pandemic. I shudder to think what I would say if I were still teaching.

     The poem is powerful and even more relevant today. If you need help or know of someone who does, get help!

     1-800-273-255 National Suicide PRevention Hotline