Poetry: "Did I Tell You" by Israel Collier

Did I—

tell you ‘bout the

time I denied

my attempted suicide?

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time that I

tried

in fact to

crawl under a rock and die?

I did!

I did!

…thought to slit my wrists,

vertical you see,

jump off a bridge,

smack the ground,

Boston cream’d,

not needles or pills,

not pipes or booze…

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time I denied

my attempted suicide?

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time that I

tried…

I tried in fact to

crawl under a rock and die?

For a second I thought

if I could just hide

from the ugly, the failures

the poverty and fakers…

But I changed my mind,

I fried my lapse

of judgement see,

of foolish

and dwelled instead

on the good,

the need.

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time I denied

my attempted suicide?

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time that I—

tried

in fact to

crawl under a rock and die?

Did I?

Did I?

I mustn’t have cuz

you’d know that I,

I tried it a couple times!

Well, in my head at least

I pictured the noose

and errthaaaang,

But then I thought

Naaaah—

I can’t.

I got too much to live for,

Too much to do and see…

I got responsibilities.

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time I denied

my attempted suicide?

Did I

tell you ‘bout the

time that I

tried—

I tried in fact to

crawl under a rock and die?

But I didn’t succeed.