I Remember

Every time I hear
About someone written off
As crazy
 
I remember
When someone I love
Was written off
As the same

Every time I hear
If that happens again
I’m going to kill myself
Said only as a joke
 
I remember
That someone important to me
Really almost killed himself
And someday still might
 
Every time I am reminded
That even now
People would rather me not talk
About what I have survived
 
I remember
The unbearable isolation
Of those difficult years
 
And I am humbled
 
Because I also remember
Times gone by

When I would joke
About someone needing their meds
If their behavior was different

And how funny
That was to me then
Before I loved someone
Whose life meds
Have saved

The difference is clear
Before I didn’t know

And now
I remember