https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_q7glIeBC8
by Maya Williams,
after Raych Jackson
“So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!” —Jonah 4:3 NET
GOD has given Jonah A LOT that he couldn’t handle.
That’s why when he found out he had to go to Nineveh he tried his best to avoid
it.
GOD has given me A LOT that I couldn’t handle.
That’s why when I found out I had to go to therapy more I tried my best to avoid
it.
GOD has given Jonah A LOT he couldn’t handle.
That’s why he thought of ending his life before the large fish
could.
GOD has given me A LOT that I couldn’t handle.
That’s why I thought of ending my life before the large fish called Life
could.
GOD allowed our fish to swallow us whole.
Maya Williams (ey/they/she) is a religious Black and Mixed Race suicide survivor currently residing in Portland, ME. Ey has published poems in venues such as The Portland Press Herald, Littoral Books, A Gathering Together, Pensive: a Global Journal of Spirituality and the Arts, FreezeRay, and more. They also performed spoken word for The Kennedy Center, Black Table Arts, and The Mixed Remixed Festival amongst others. You can follow her work at www.mayawilliamspoet.com.