Mikayla

From the upcoming book "Imaginary Friends"

Written after finding out a person passionately involved in animal rescue took her own life because of cyberbullying and death threats. Rest in peace, sister Mikayla. I’m saddened that the world treated such a wonderful soul so awfully.

No one likes hearing about suicide on Facebook
in between all the “look at me” and bickering
differences of opinion turning into death threats
people forget that words matter
and that hater can go back to “real life”
look at their children and kiss their spouse
after spewing venom through the screen
it seems like it’s different dimensions
where it is never mentioned that one person
in collusion with an echo chamber
who doesn’t give a fuck about facts
can be the catalyst for taking a life
no different than if they picked up the gun
and pulled the trigger 
But people call it “triggering” 
dripping with sarcasm they’ll scream
about how their right to “criticize”
is an immutable gift given by God
but if the stories from ancient times are true
God said “thou shall not murder”
putting all the contradictions aside
the logic of that statement is sound
People don’t seem to realize
that words are more deadly than bombs
that whole civilizations owe their destruction
to words not carefully considered 
and it’s worse because people believe 
every fucking thing they read online
as if shoving it through digital tubes
means it must be true
No one would lie on social media
no one would cry wolf or shout “fire” 
in a crowded room unless the cause was just
Everyone is some sort of martyr
falling on the sword of “I’m just being honest”
just saying instead of just praying
for clarity and taking a little bit of time
to figure out if the rumor is total bullshit
Sometimes it’s a thoughtless “Kill yourself”
that pushes a soul to the breaking point
and her husband and her daughter
have to live with her shattering absence
because she couldn’t swim in shit
and no one had a life preserver strong enough
to counteract the poison 
It seems so simple
don’t be a fucking douchebag
everyone is fighting their own battle
and silence is often the wisest choice
especially online
it costs nothing to show kindness
and the hard work is simply a matter of
shutting the fuck up