V.
time to leave for writing class
social media post paralyzes
Daniel Larson-Fine
DOB: 1992/1993
DOD: March 24, 2017
Age: 25
Korean
Died by suicide
Place of death: Bloomington, Minnesota
suicide hotline gone cold
we missed your five-finger warning
a thousand friends could not save you
from recording your funeral dirge
our regret surrounds your lonely soul
Jane Trybulski
DOB: May 16, 2002
DOD: April 30, 2017
Age: 14
Korean
Died by suicide
Place of death: Penfield, New York
age does not protect us
death does not discriminate
countless lives abbreviated
mountains of names
enough to fill the King James Bible
Gabe Proctor
DOB: April 29, 1990
DOD: May 20, 2017
Age: 27
Adoption date: 2000
All American track athlete
Ethiopian
Died by suicide
Place of death: Lyndonville, Vermont
So Sorry floods obituary comments
digital condolences can’t resuscitate
we pray peace and comfort
welcome you
our brothers and sisters
who left before you
will catch you on the other side
Phillip Clay
DOB: December 30, 1974
DOD: May 21, 2017
Age: 42
Adoption date: 1983
Adoption agency: Holt
Korean
Did not receive US citizenship
Died by suicide
Date of deportation to Korea: 2012
Place of death: Seoul, South Korea
Place of burial: Pennsylvania
strangers mourn your tragic death
Korean Consulate surrounded by grief
candle lit dusk hides tears
we expect death
for every life taken by suicide
how many more considered
this journey
from this life we cannot escape?
faces never match names
tongues won’t count to five
in mother tongues
Did you choose death?
or did it choose you?
if we’re four times more likely
to die by suicide
then is suicide
a natural cause of death?
when we’re four times more likely
to die by suicide?