Side Exit

A proper suicide
should be an Irish goodbye.
Out the side exit
stage left
You duck out without a word
leaving a scene
a place
that you didn’t want to
be part of.
A lifetime
trying to escape
and the halos around
the lights become too much
and every road becomes
a dead end.
Or you have run
as far as you can run
and the voices start telling you
that nothing will improve
or get better
and you’ll never become
unstuck.
It’s better to fade into
the darkness
while the drunken madness
that has always stirred
finally finds it’s
resting place in the shadows.

Or you talk yourself out of it
or fail and live with it
for eternity
but always take
that side exit
when you leave
without saying a word
because nobody cares
if you stay
or if you go.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to someone and reach out to the following organizations:

National suicide prevention hotline – 1-800-273-8255

Mental Health Partners Crisis Service – Dial 988

CU Boulder Center for Disordered Eating

NAMI Boulder County resources for eating disordersa