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The flowers of the forest

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More than five rugby teams' worth, of men, every week, dead by their own hands, 

Young men mostly, three times as many men as women,

Nearly 6000 a year, 60,000 over a decade and....

rising. 

Using the traditional routes to oblivion - hanging from a tree, opening the arteries, being free with the pills

A closed garage and exhaust fumes, jumping off high-rise flats, bridges, cheap thrills...but....

With no turning back. No second chance.  Sometimes with notes, often with not.

This virus, this epidemic, this plague, this destroyer-of-families,  goes mostly unnoticed.

We're all busy and...anyway...sotto voce...

After all they're mostly white, working class males

Not the best qualified for life in our society. The devil take the hindmost and all that.

And anyway didn't Mrs T tell us there is no such thing as society - greed is good - all that.

These rough lads have their uses, you know the sort, the sort we rely on in war.

The unsung heroes. That sort.

Those dragged up in 'care', those constantly neglected  are over-represented

Those who are hurt easily and never show it - they too, vastly over - represented amongst the dead

Those who are inarticulate, autistic, bullied - over-represented too. 

And every one precious,

Every one a miracle of love,

Every one in need of a helping hand.

Including us.

 

◄ Aramaic

Elegy ►

Comments

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John Marks

Mon 15th Oct 2018 20:41

Thank you Ray and thank you Keith. The public discourse in the UK (and the USA) is now so petty it beggars belief - who said what to whom, who feels offended, who needs to apologise, who feels excluded, who said something on twitter - whilst the funerals of these young men and women are taking place in market towns, cities and villages, and families are left bereft, broken. Too many parents burying their children. And if we don't speak out about this obscene waste of life, who will? Not the politicians, nor the celebs, not the cognoscenti, not all the professional bull-shitters whose vapid opinions fill the air waves.

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raypool

Mon 15th Oct 2018 16:16

The frightening thing to me John is how common is depression - even if you are sound of mind and limb - there are now many artificial substitutes that offer us a panacea, but when the glitz has gone what's left? Is it perhaps an answer that lies with emotional and financial security? Both rare commodities it seems to me.


Powerful and persuasive poem , great stuff.

Ray

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keith jeffries

Mon 15th Oct 2018 15:07

John,

This excellent poem brought me to tears as you have confronted a very difficult problem head on with a shocking eloquence. Certain lines impacted on me like jolts out of the blue:

rough lads have their uses....the sort we rely on in war.

easily hurt and never show it

In the army I served with them. They were the best, believe me. This country owes them an enormous debt. This increasing rate of suicide is indicative of a country which no longer cares and so few seem to see it or be bothered by it. Politicians be damned. We lie languid in a self consumed lethargy of indifference.

This poem must be recited, printed and edited for more to see and read and hear.

Good work mate and bless you for this

Keith

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John Marks

Mon 15th Oct 2018 11:27

Thank you Jacob, David, Jon, Taylor. This is a difficult topic to write about - I am keenly aware of all the private grief and hurt that, sometimes, blights the lives of those left behind - therefore getting the tone right is vital in order to show adequate respect. So, your support helps to convince me that I have got the tone, at least partially, right.

John

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Taylor Crowshaw

Mon 15th Oct 2018 07:53

I live in Ireland where there has always been a high rate of suicide in young men it is heartbreaking. Wonderful poem John. I have been touched by this..my brother took his own life at 26yrs of age. ❤

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Jon Stainsby

Mon 15th Oct 2018 05:06

Unbelievably powerful.

Big Sal

Mon 15th Oct 2018 02:26

If there were ever a topic to write a poem about. . .I guess tragedy does inspire the best in us at the worst of times. Are all these poems you've been putting on the site published in a book of yours? Or have you just letting the muses take you?

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John Marks

Mon 15th Oct 2018 00:34

Thanks Jacob. It exhausted me this one. My children are in their 30s and 20s and they know so many young men who have taken their own lives.

Big Sal

Mon 15th Oct 2018 00:13

Definitely one of my favorite poems now, John. Well done is not enough to convey the great work you did on this. Damn, I can't be the only one noticing your excellent work here can I? I hope not.

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