I'm Gonna
Won't someone listen?54 total reviews
Comment from Father Flaps
Hi Dean
I actually watched a movie this afternoon in which there was a suicide. I didn't see it coming, but I should have. I guess we don't see the pain that others deal with on a daily basis. And perhaps people we see as strong aren't strong at all.
The movie was "The Homesman" starring Tommy Lee Jones and Hillary Swank. Meryl Streep, John Lithgow and James Spader had minor roles. Mary Bee Cuddy (Hillary Swank) has to fetch three crazy women off the prairie and return them to a church shelter. She employs a low-life drifter named George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones) to assist her. The three women have gone completely mad. One even threw her baby in the outhouse to certain death. I was so intent on watching these mad women and the likes of George Briggs that it didn't register how lonely Mary Bee Cuddy was. She wanted a husband. She was lonely as hell. She had a farm, acreage, money in the bank... but living by herself was more than she could bear. She wasn't crazy as the three women, but she committed suicide...hanged herself on the return trip. I missed the signs. I thought she was a strong woman, self-sufficient. But she wasn't. You don't have to be crazy or mad to take your own life. But there must be a fine line, eh?
Your last lines,
"I'm terrified - it's pitch black,
the pain here never ends..." made me think about someone who has committed suicide. They rid themselves of the pain in this life, but what about the next? Do they go directly to hell? What kind of escape is it that puts your soul in hell? It's not escape at all.
Food for thought. Nicely penned!
cheers
Kimbob
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2015
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Hi Dean
I actually watched a movie this afternoon in which there was a suicide. I didn't see it coming, but I should have. I guess we don't see the pain that others deal with on a daily basis. And perhaps people we see as strong aren't strong at all.
The movie was "The Homesman" starring Tommy Lee Jones and Hillary Swank. Meryl Streep, John Lithgow and James Spader had minor roles. Mary Bee Cuddy (Hillary Swank) has to fetch three crazy women off the prairie and return them to a church shelter. She employs a low-life drifter named George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones) to assist her. The three women have gone completely mad. One even threw her baby in the outhouse to certain death. I was so intent on watching these mad women and the likes of George Briggs that it didn't register how lonely Mary Bee Cuddy was. She wanted a husband. She was lonely as hell. She had a farm, acreage, money in the bank... but living by herself was more than she could bear. She wasn't crazy as the three women, but she committed suicide...hanged herself on the return trip. I missed the signs. I thought she was a strong woman, self-sufficient. But she wasn't. You don't have to be crazy or mad to take your own life. But there must be a fine line, eh?
Your last lines,
"I'm terrified - it's pitch black,
the pain here never ends..." made me think about someone who has committed suicide. They rid themselves of the pain in this life, but what about the next? Do they go directly to hell? What kind of escape is it that puts your soul in hell? It's not escape at all.
Food for thought. Nicely penned!
cheers
Kimbob
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 17-Jan-2015
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me on this poem, Kimbob. That movie sounds like one I will most definitely look for. I'm a big fan of both Hillary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones. His work in the film, "No Country for Old Men" was outstanding!
I wrote this for a seventeen-year-old friend of my daughter's who hanged herself last Wednesday in her home. Her little brother came home from school and found her. Can you imagine that poor boys psyche? What sort of horrors will he now have to live with his entire life? He's just nine, for heaven's sake!
It seems that it had got around on the social networks that young Tiff was gay. For over a month she endured ridicule, spews of hatred and anger from several of her classmates. The thing bullies seem to love more than anything else these days is that their terror tactics are no longer confined to school hours. Now, they can badger and belittle whomever they like, 24/7, and never have to leave their homes.
Tiff was a sweet girl, very lovely. She had a most tender heart, although the divorce of her parents in 2007 really bothered her. Our daughter, now 18, has known her for years.
It's such a horrible, very tragic waste of life, and it troubled me deeply. I simply had to write something. I pray Tiff's soul is at peace now. I truly do...
Thanks again for your very warm and thoughtful review, my friend. It means a great deal to me. :)
~Dean
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Wow, that is tragic, Dean. We had a similar bullying incident in British Columbia in 2012. Amanda Todd was a Grade 10 student who was blackmailed into exposing herself using a webcam, cyber-bullied, and physically assaulted.
Basically, she was teased to death. It seems there are a lot of bullies these days. Kids are very cruel. Who is there to notice the pain, and do something about it before it's too late?
Comment from Spitfire
If This isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is. Cutting, overdosing on drugs, hanging, shooting (the last two use parental tools.) The last stanza indicates that death is even worse. Alarming statistics.
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If This isn't a cry for help, I don't know what is. Cutting, overdosing on drugs, hanging, shooting (the last two use parental tools.) The last stanza indicates that death is even worse. Alarming statistics.
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
Comment from ravenblack
I'm gonna does a really good job of capturing the teen's voice as well as his resolve to go through with it. Dad doesn't care about the rope and the kid getting high suggests that dad may not be very attentive to his kid. And the line with the gun- either he means it as they can protect themselves from him , he will use it on himself or will murder his parents before taking his life. Returning to family and friends - his fear. His hesitation marks. Suitably dark and direct.
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I'm gonna does a really good job of capturing the teen's voice as well as his resolve to go through with it. Dad doesn't care about the rope and the kid getting high suggests that dad may not be very attentive to his kid. And the line with the gun- either he means it as they can protect themselves from him , he will use it on himself or will murder his parents before taking his life. Returning to family and friends - his fear. His hesitation marks. Suitably dark and direct.
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
Comment from Mastery
Whoa, dude! Wow! This is different for sure...as it appears to be on a personal level, although I know it's not true thoughts, thank God. You shouldn't be doing that wacky tabaccky though. LOL..Good job, Deano. Bob
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Whoa, dude! Wow! This is different for sure...as it appears to be on a personal level, although I know it's not true thoughts, thank God. You shouldn't be doing that wacky tabaccky though. LOL..Good job, Deano. Bob
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Yeah, a good friend of my daughter's from school hanged herself last Wednesday, Bob. Her name was Tiffany, and she was just 17 years old. So tragic. It seems her sexual proclivities leaned towards being attracted to the same sex, and word got out. It was all over snap-chat and Facebook, and after about a month or so of ridicule, she simply couldn't handle it any longer. Her mom said she had no clue, either about her being gay, or about her being bullied at school. Her little brother, Dillon (age 9) was the one who found her.
That is what prompted me to write this poem. Suicide at any age is so tragic.
Thanks for an excellent review. :}
~Dean
Comment from Tomes Johnston
This is yet another spine-chilling poem by the author in this post. This is a poem with a slightly different tempo to it. I like the change of pace. Well done.
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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This is yet another spine-chilling poem by the author in this post. This is a poem with a slightly different tempo to it. I like the change of pace. Well done.
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Thank you very much, Tomes. I appreciate you taking time out to read and review it for me. :}
~Dean
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It was a pleasure
Comment from GWHARGIS
This really hit home. My own son was contemplating suicide before Christmas. He is in Seattle and I am here on the east coast. His is PTSD. I call him every day and we talk, either for a minute or two or an hour if he wants. It is hard to understand and some parents just don't know the signs. I pester the crap out of my other children and eventually they will tell me enough of what is going on their lives so that I can advise them. This was a wonderful and sensitively written poem. Gretchen
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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This really hit home. My own son was contemplating suicide before Christmas. He is in Seattle and I am here on the east coast. His is PTSD. I call him every day and we talk, either for a minute or two or an hour if he wants. It is hard to understand and some parents just don't know the signs. I pester the crap out of my other children and eventually they will tell me enough of what is going on their lives so that I can advise them. This was a wonderful and sensitively written poem. Gretchen
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Thanks, GRETCHEN, and I'm so sorry to hear that your son suffers from PTSD. It's such a debilitating condition. He'll be in my prayers, as will you, my friend. Thanks so much for the very thoughtful review. :)
~Dean
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Thank you very much for the prayers. I will gladly accept those.
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Glad to do it. :)
Comment from Alan K Pease
I think the highest suicide rate is among people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder including rape victims and veterans - something like 10 to 30%. Your poem and notes tell a frightening story.
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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I think the highest suicide rate is among people who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder including rape victims and veterans - something like 10 to 30%. Your poem and notes tell a frightening story.
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Thank you very much, Alan. As always, I appreciate your comments. ~Dean
Comment from Loren (7)
Your second stanza: "I'm sure Dad wont care ... " speaks volumes to one of the possible reasons behind this tortured mind. Odd, too, that he in the final stanza he admits to having friends. Friends? I wonder of that meaning to him. Loren
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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Your second stanza: "I'm sure Dad wont care ... " speaks volumes to one of the possible reasons behind this tortured mind. Odd, too, that he in the final stanza he admits to having friends. Friends? I wonder of that meaning to him. Loren
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
reply by the author on 16-Jan-2015
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It does make one wonder, doesn't it?
Thanks so much for your comments, Loren. I'm very grateful. :}
Comment from flamingstar
The problem is so many of them are unreachable by the time they get to that point. The drugs (meth) take them to the point of no return. We've got one gal on our ward now who is only alive today because she has a staff assigned to her 24/7. The moment she's released she'll try it again - and she has enough experience under her belt to do it right next time. Your last stanza was interesting. When my boyfriend overdosed, he left a note to say he'd had enough of this life and had to go. But almost every time I saw him in dreams he frantically told me he wanted to come back. Now he's forgiven himself for the decision and is over it, thank God.
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The problem is so many of them are unreachable by the time they get to that point. The drugs (meth) take them to the point of no return. We've got one gal on our ward now who is only alive today because she has a staff assigned to her 24/7. The moment she's released she'll try it again - and she has enough experience under her belt to do it right next time. Your last stanza was interesting. When my boyfriend overdosed, he left a note to say he'd had enough of this life and had to go. But almost every time I saw him in dreams he frantically told me he wanted to come back. Now he's forgiven himself for the decision and is over it, thank God.
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
Comment from JanetRussek
This is so sad, Dean. What puzzles me is that you'd think as a parent you'd notice any unusual behavior in your child. There have to be red flags. If it were me, I'd start to get to the root of things right away. If a teen starts dressing, speaking, or acting differently wouldn't you find it unusual? If they suddenly change their circle of friends and/or distance themselves from you, isn't that a red flag? I don't get it. A cry for help comes in many, many ways.
Warm Regards,
Janet
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This is so sad, Dean. What puzzles me is that you'd think as a parent you'd notice any unusual behavior in your child. There have to be red flags. If it were me, I'd start to get to the root of things right away. If a teen starts dressing, speaking, or acting differently wouldn't you find it unusual? If they suddenly change their circle of friends and/or distance themselves from you, isn't that a red flag? I don't get it. A cry for help comes in many, many ways.
Warm Regards,
Janet
Comment Written 16-Jan-2015
