As you may know, 988 is a new phone number that recently went live to help people get help in a mental health crisis. Similar to 911, this line is dedicated for anyone in need of mental health assistance of any kind. Please post as well as communicate this information within your organization and take steps to create a safe environment for employees to seek help. Many organizations responded when COVID uncovered the need for well-being, community, belonging, and support.  A link with additional information can be found below the poem.

Leslé Honoré Poetry

It doesn’t always look like darkness 
Disheveled 
Discombobulated
Sometimes it looks like dance 
Like joy 
Like syncopated rhythms 
Like grace
Like choreography channeling
Ancestor’s dreams 
Powerful 
Successful 
Enviable 
Sometimes we get so good 
At the act
At the entertainment 
At wearing the mask 
That we can fool ourselves 
A little bit
Long enough for the public 
To believe 
That we 
Have it all together 
That the airbrush portrait 
Is real 
The Instagram smile 
Is permanent 
The steps aren’t automatic 
That happiness 24/7 isn’t toxic 

But the truth is 
Living is hard 
Lonely is real 
Grief is too heavy to hold 
People don’t check 
On the strong friends 
The smiling friends 
The dancing friends 
The friends who look like 
They are on top of the world 
Looks are often liars 

Hopelessness can grow 
Like weeds in the most beautiful 
Garden 
It doesn’t always look like 
Darkness 
And it’s so hard to say the words 
Out loud 
“I need help 
This is too much 
I don’t want to try anymore”
Because we clap for stunning 
Clap for the performance 
And ignore those in pain

It doesn’t always look like darkness
Sometimes it just looks like 
Our reflection
In the Mirror 
Sometimes it’s just too hard 
To stay in the light 
If life feels like it is too much 
to take one more step
let someone hold your hand while you walk
You aren’t alone 
You aren’t the only one 
I’ve had those thoughts too
You are not alone
I promise 

Leslé Honoré Poetry

National Suicide prevention lifeline 988

suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Photo by Vignesh Moorthy on Unsplash

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