INSTEAD OF KILLING YOURSELF 

wait until
a year from now
where you say,
“Holy fuck,
I can’t believe I was going to kill myself before I etcetera’d…
before I went skinny dipping in Tennessee,
made my own IPA,
tried out for a game show,
rode a camel drunk,
skydived alone,
learned to waltz with clumsy old people,
photographed electric jellyfish,
built a sailboat from trash,
taught someone how to read,
etc. etc. etc.”

The red washing
down the bathtub
can’t change the color of the sea
at all.

Derrick C. Brown

This is one of my favourite poems. Its not good to analyse in the sense that it doesn't have any other interpretations but I think its beautiful. The final stanza just sets out the belief that although you may be low now, killing yourself won't change anything. I like this poem because it highlights that having strength, even throughout rough times, pays off eventually. You shouldn't do something arguably reckless like kill yourself when you have so many things to look forward to in life.