By: Mileena M.

Some of the most touching writers suffered from a broken heart, or mental illness. I’ve lost 2 people to this. Suffer from it my self. Be someone light house. Not the weights that contribute to the drowning. Notice and show love. Everyone has silent battles. When someone voices theirs. Don’t discredit it. Don’t try to fix it or shut it off. If there was a skeleton key. Or a switch to flip. We would of already flipped it. You are loved. You are valued. Your time has yet to come.

2nd Place · Adult Writing (2024)

I quit calling-
I quit going- Nobody noticed-

The darkness creeps in- 

As i walk-
drowning-
Nobody noticed-

Take another pill-
But they’ve stopped working-

I said aloud i tried to kill myself- You just kept talking-

And so i keep falling- 

down-
Down-
Down.

I keep trying-
But the voices get to be so loud.

The only friends i talk to that truly listen- 

Can only be found at their grave- 

Adam’s song-

Keep on keeping on-
But the air is being ripped out of my lungs- 

Every step is so heavy-
Weights tied to my feet-
I am drowning-
Drowning in an ocean of smiling faces-

I do not know how to swim- 

It’s comes so easy to you-

Wait! The plan! 

So I ask for help..

Snap out of it- 

It will get better-

Oh just go see a doctor- 

Prayer?

I quit calling-
I quit going- 

Nobody noticed.

I dyed my hair blue-
Stained my skin-
All the things that made me feel a little more alive- All the things you said you hated-
All the extremes-
The highs-
The lows-
Hoping to raise concerns-
The step before cutting-
The step before running-
The step before relapsing-
The step before i ended my life-

I quit calling-
I quit goin-
Nobody noticed-
I said i tried to killmyself and you just kept talking. The highs-
The lows-
Oh the lows-

“I Just don’t understand why!” 

Will be the first words uttered