I saw it all...

A Tanka Poem ( 5-7-5-7-7 )

 

 

 

 

 

 

With innocent eyes
I saw what no child should see
Mom sat on the bed...
She held a gun in her hands
She pulled the trigger and BOOM!!

Mom fell to the ground
Her red blood stained the carpet
I wanted to run
But I was too scared to move
Tears fell, but I made no sound

I was terrified
Suddenly my pants felt wet
I chewed on my lip
I am just a little girl
What am I going to do

I heard a loud noise
It startled me from my sleep
I layed next to mom
My dad’s screams had woke me up
I was so glad he was home

I finally cried aloud
We both cried loud together
My mommy was dead
Dad said mom was very sick
He said D E P R E S S I O N killed her

I really tried too
But I did not understand
Why did she do it?
Didn’t she love me enough?
Will my daddy leave me too?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last week an acquaintance of mine put a gun to her head and took her own life. She had been suffering from Mental Illness and Depression for many years. She was a 43 year old wife and mother of 3 beautiful children. Her youngest, just a toddler. I have been thinking about how confused her children must be feeling right now. Although the events of her death didn’t happen quite this way….I started typing and these words came out of my head…..
I remember how vibrant and beautiful and kind she was before she got sick. I have no doubt that she loved her family very much. She was no longer in charge of her thinking. Unfortunately Mental Illness is treated by strong drugs that in most cases suicidal thought and actions are one of the side affects. I think something needs to be done about these drugs! There are too many people dying unnecessarily. There have got to be a better alternative.

Farewell Dee Dee, You will be forever missed.

Reviews

[Remanence]

This is well executed. It is hard enough to cope with the loss of one you loved, but even harder to express and view that loss through the eyes of the child who saw their own mother extinguish her life. Writer has done well in doing both. (and each one had to have been a heart-rendering experience)