The thirty-eight-year old suicide left a note.
Too much loss.
Too much frustration.
It could have been prevented.
I'm having my coffee
at the kitchen table,
asking my friend,
what do you want me to do about it?
The community is only as healthy
as the individuals that live there.
We've all heard that common sense,
common knowledge truism:
one has to want to change.
In order to improve.
People are no psychologists.
And yet they hold the key to
all manner of therapy.
The mental health clinic treats
the disturbed and upset.
The deranged are walking around the city.
What causes a man to shoot his wife and children?
Loss, frustration, inability to face reality.
Something snaps.
When I tell my friend that mental health clinics are there,
he thinks I am being sarcastic.
Contexts intertwine.
When psychological strength erodes,
we all suffer.
We cannot all show concern.
We can make inroads with the right encouragement.