my uncle liked to dump sugar in soup
or replace a fruit salad’s grapes with olives
and whoever told him “hey, you got the wrong bowl,”
well, they profoundly misunderstood his intentions
hard to get this across, but. SSRI’s or not,
it’s less sad to miss heaven than many learn to interpret, so think
a dog heading into the woods to die
is not the same as one licking a bee-stung paw
nor is St. Vincent’s emergency lock-up ward
the kind of sunrise promised by clear mental health
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you can never give a suicidal your condolences by Jeremey Jusek
Jeremy was inaugural the poet laureate of Parma, Ohio (’22-’24). He has authored three books: We Grow Tomatoes in Tiny Towns, The Less Traveled Street, and The Details Will Be Gone Soon. He hosts the Ohio Poetry Association’s podcast Poetry Spotlight, runs the West Side Poetry Workshop, and founded the Flamingo Writers’ Guild.