Suicide Isn’t Painless – Original Poem
By Mark A. Leon
I just saw a good man die
A victim of a warm against love
Compassionate soul in a desensitized world
His blood spilled on a dying planet
One last effort to feed the roots of humanity
A witness to genocide
A product of the machine
Villages pillaged; families destroyed; lives forever changed
He honored the code, but lived with the guilt
Every minute, every hour, every day
Trained to kill; raised to heal
Yearning for a home
Blocking the only cure to his disease with an unbreakable wall surrounding his soul
Alone, he searched for answers
I saw a good man die
Self-inflicted by his own pain
Counting the seconds as sand crystals feel down the narrow hole of the hourglass
Silently pleading for a community to call his own
Waiting for that call that would come too late
Cries internalized
A soldier never shares
Freedom at any cost; never hesitate
Guarded he remained
His heart, a fragile rose
Encased in a wall of glass
Afraid to live, he chose death
A final act of valor
Leaving behind so many unanswered prayers
With one sunset, this spring became a winter
Cold and dark
The fire extinguished
It is snowing now
Each flake, a story of remembrance
Each picture, a glimmer of a smile
With one final toast, we say goodbye and remember forever
The curtain falls on a good man