I Heard You Today. Poem by Candice Padden

*Trigger warning: * suicide.

I Heard You Today.
Today, When You cried and said 'If only she'd called and told me how she was feeling I could have done something! I always have time for anyone struggling! '
Today When They said 'Oh my God I never knew, if she's spoken to me and told me, I would have WANTED to help! Why didn't she reach out and ask for support? ! '
Today When He wrote on his Facebook wall: 'I just can't believe it. We can never let this happen again! If anyone is feeling low, please call me! '
Today, when She said ' It goes to show you, can't always tell who is fighting the hardest battles! '
Today, when social media was filled with Helpline numbers reposted again and again and again to raise awareness.
Gossip, speculation, memes with hashtags and cliché:

(Heaven Gained another Angel.
God only takes the best.
Thoughts & Prayers.
Rest in Power, Rest in Peace.
Always remembered, Never forgotten.)


I didn't hear you the other day though.
Not when You said ' I haven't really spoken to her, I don't really know what to say! '
Not when They said ' Oh she's always miserable about something.'
Not when He said ' Thing is, we all have our shit don't we? Some have it WAY worse than she does! '
Not when She said 'She knows where I am if she needs me.'

Not the other day, when social media was filled with Helpline numbers reposted from a repost to raise awareness, lost amongst the memes, politics, Sunday Dinners and photos of people's kids.

I didn't hear it because No-one ever wants to say, even to themselves:
No one wants to save the dying.
They just want to mourn the Dead.