i love how he just says thank you at the end like he didnt just make me cry at 5 in the morning

"You cannot get over somebody but you can take a shower, and then you can get dressed, and then you can find your keys, and then you can go grocery shopping, and then you can do your laundry, and then, it's ten years later and they're still dead and you are happy."

Oh boy do I relate. Self care is so hard when you're depressed. I've gone way too long without basic hygiene. I am learning how important it is to appreciate the smallest efforts.

“You cannot get over somebody, but you can take a shower.” The most powerful sentence I’ve ever heard..

I love how at the end he just says a simple "thank you" like he didn't just fucked my hole existence in just 4 minutes

"I don't believe in God, but I do believe in miracles... Being here is a miracle" Those statements mean so much on many levels...

Damn. We found my grandma on the floor after an attempted overdose. The night before, she locked her door and we just thought she was in a bad mood so we left it alone. We didn't go in until the next day. Honestly I don't think that feeling will ever leave me. Now anytime anyone is 10 minutes late, won't answer the phone, doesn't respond when I call to them, ect. I panic. It's such a weird feeling. So hard to get over. I wish taking a shower would make that go away

Just take a shower lyrics by Jared Singer (I hope I got them Right) the hardest thing I've ever did was take a shower. holding the body of someone you love who has committed suicide is..easy. all you have to do is sit there while you wait for the paramedics, and hope that you are wrong ,pray that there is still a person here to save . when you are in shock ,the weight of a torso is negligible for all the strain it puts on your body ,might as well be on the beach holding a book. I think we should reDefine the word tragedy as that which is a impossible to get over unless you are profoundly lucky,it will happen to you and on that day when all of your Happy daydreams seem tiny and all of your nightmares seem huge,on the day when the worst what if you could ever imagin has already happened, when a friend who you love has committed suicide ,when your step father is paralyzed probably forever will ever your tragedy ends,please use me a cautionary tale.because only a mad man tries to do the impossible. and after her death I was indeed a mad man ,I tried to get over her suicide . and failing that I did nothing I sat on my own filth for three weeks until a dear friend walked into my room carrying a towel hoping that I was not another impossible task and said " you are taking a shower RIGHT NOW " that shower was the hardest thing I have ever done ,you can't get over somebody but you can take a shower ,and then you can get dressed and then you can find your keys and then you can go grocery shopping and then you can do your laundry and then it's ten years later and they are still dead and you are happy I don't believe in God but I do believe in miracles . in things so large they seem impossible when you do them one tiny step at a time you get them done .taking a shower is a miracle, laughing is a miracle ,being here is a miracle. so that is the real example. we all give up ,we all hide ,and we all wallow in our own whatever awful we have to Wallow in.but if you are lucky ,if there is a miracle ,you take a shower and you get up,and you keep doing tiny things into a world that is slightly less dark place

Self care is legit hard when have depression gosh this moment the tears...

"10 years later and they are still dead... but you are happy" and now im sobbing

my bestfriend killed himself when we were only 12, we we're going to do it together, but after that day i swore to myself that i would never get better without him. It is a miracle, to be happy after loss again. to move on. this poem is a miracle too. i know you dont believe in god but, god bless you sir. god bless you.

Sometimes Button Poetry is the only thing keeping me functioning

I love that he wrote about something specific but everyone in the comments is able to think of something of their own that this poem reminds them of. That's when you know you're a brilliant poet. I'm struggling with getting myself to just take a shower and he put everything so perfectly. I've been badly abused and living that felt easier than getting out of bed to take a shower in the morning. It's hard to explain to people who haven't been through it but being in the midst of tragedy and wallowing in it somehow is less emotionally draining than getting past it. Getting past it takes all the strength in the world while being in the midst of it just takes you laying there while it rests on you. It really is the little steps like showering every day and doing your laundry that make it easier to get through it

I can feel this mans emotions in every poem. I love him.

This empowered me to actually take a shower. I feel much better. Thank you.

Damn, depression is a demon. My heart goes out to all who are suffering/ed from that deadly disease. I've had my share of it many times, and life seemed so bleak. His friend really loved him enough to come in with a towel and get him to take a bath.

"I think we should re-define the word tragedy as 'that which impossible to get over'." I remember finding my grandma dead like it was yesterday. It was 3 years ago, and I still struggle daily trying to get past it, but this poem definitely helped me look at it from a different pov. Perhaps getting over it won't happen, but happiness still can. This poem hit me hard and his emotion sent chills down my spine. Thank you, Jared for sharing this.

I am in shock. I’ve had this experience where someone just comes in and forces me to take care of myself after being overwhelmingly suicidal for days. I could never voice how that experience felt, bc it kinda saved my life. But this poem does it perfectly. “Suddenly it’s ten years later and they’re still dead but you’re happy”... things get better. Thank you.

*keep doing tiny things until the world is a slightly less dark place* ❤👌

Chances are Jared will never see this comment but I wanted to say thank you this poem helped me through the loss of 4 people

I've experienced my best friend trying to kill herself when we were 14. I called 911 and drove to her house and seeing her like that changed me. 4 years later, my boyfriend, who i was close friends with before we started dating, tried to kill himself about 3 months before we got together. His brother is the one told me he was in the hospital and I was terrified. My dad has talked about wanting to kill himself as long as i can remember. My mom told me that if she hadn't gotten out of prison when she did, she would've killed herself. My brother in law tried to kill himself, he still had the scar to prove it. I'm lucky enough that none of this includes that they DID kill themselves, only tried or talk about it. Depression is fucking evil. It is soul deteriorating. I'm so sorry if you've ever lost someone to suicide.

“It’s 10 years later and they are still dead and you are happy” that part hits

You can hear the pain in his voice. This is so powerful; I love this so much

For 11 years I have made "I love you, talk to you tomorrow" the last thing I have said to every single person I care about in my life. It's the truth, but for a long time it was also a promise. A promise made daily so that I would not kill myself. In the dark hours of my days I would remind myself of all the people that I loved and PROMISED I would see tomorrow. Sometimes I didn't want to. Sometimes I was moments away and had almost convinced myself that they did not want to see me anyways. I must have made that promise thousands of times. I am no longer suicidal most days. The majority of my days are happy or atleast tolerable and most nights are peaceful. I still make those promises. Out of habit or fear I do not know. I lived my life for them for years. Now I live my life for all of us.

When I was 16, my best friend of the same age killed himself. I remember mourning, trying to "get over" his death. Swallowing my tears and trying to act strong, this worked for a while until I nearly joined him exactly 2 months after his wake. Losing a friend is one of the worst pains one can expefience and it's so easy to forego even the simplest things such as taking a shower, doing homework, or even eating. This poem reminds me that there's a reason to keep going and to keep prospering no matter what happens in our lives. We are lucky to be here, and if there ever comes a time where you go through trauma or tragedy, just take a shower.

The person that may have been the love of my life committed suicide a month ago. Every word of this is profoundly accurate and important. I cried for a very long time after watching this, but i think i needed it. Thank you, Jared Singer. Your words have impacted me in a way i cannot describe.

This saved my life so many times.

Over a year and a half ago, my dad was in hospice care after his brain cancer rapidly got worse. One night at like 2 am I woke up to the sounds of many footsteps above me (my room is in the basement). I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had a bad feeling. After about 5 minutes of listening, my mom came down the stairs and into my room and sat next to room. It was then that I knew exactly what had happened. I began sobbing into my mom's shoulder because I didn't know what to do. There are days where I'll just be sitting there minding my own business and then suddenly I am curled into myself sobbing uncontrollably because I could have done something different. I could've spent more time with him. I could've listened to him more often. I could've done anything. Tragedy, death in particular, is something that is extremely hard to get over.

Someone I love took her own life this July. Now I will use one of her (many) special expressions, "Holy Wow!" to respond to this Poem. Thank you for your Life and lovely Expressions, Dear Adriane. Love.

every time i find myself depressed, i go back here and remind myself that doing things might be hard, but i can start with a shower.

at the end, i love the way he snaps away with just a "thank you"

Twin Cities: Don't miss Button Poetry Live, first Monday of every month in downtown Saint Paul. Jared was last month's feature, and every month is a chance to see some of the most incredible live art the midwest has to offer: facebook.com/buttonpoetrylive

Dear Moonbin, thank you for all of your hard work and the many smiles you gave all of us over the years. 🕊️

This is the poem I listened to the night of my 18th birthday.I come back to this from time to time .It gives me a lot of hope.

The hardest thing I ever did was take a shower Holding the body of someone you love who has committed suicide is easy All you have to do is sit there while you wait for the paramedics And hope that you are wrong, Pray that there is still a person here to save When you are in shock the weight of a torso is neglegable For all of the strain it puts on your body, you might as well be on the beach holding a book I think we should redifine the word 'tragedy' as 'that-which-is-impossible-to-get-over' Unless you are profoundly lucky, it will happen to you And on that day, when all of your happy daydreams seem tiny And all of your nightmares seem huge On the day when the worst what if you can ever imagine has already happened When a friend who you love has committed suicide When your stepfather is paralyzed probably forever Whatever your tragedy is Please use me as a cautionary tale Because only a madman tries to do the impossible And after her death I was indeed a madman I tried to get over her suicide And failing that, I did nothing I sat in my own filth for three weeks until a dear friend walked into my room carrying a towel hoping that I was not another impossible task And said you are taking a shower right now That shower was the hardest thing I have ever done You cannot get over somebody, but you can take a shower And then you can get dressed And then you can find your keys and then you can go grocery shopping And then you can do your laundry And then it's 10 years later and they are still dead and you happy I don't believe in God But I do believe in miracle In things so large they seem impossible when you do them One tiny step at a time you get them done Taking a shower is a miracle Laughing is a miracle Being here is a miracle See, that's the real example We all give up And we all hide And we all wallow in our own whatever awful we have to wallow in But if you're lucky If there's a miracle You take a shower And you get up And you keep doing tiny things until the world is a slightly less dark place

When I was suicidal, I listened to this right before I was about to do it. If it wasn’t for this poem I wouldn’t be alive. Thank you for this art.

“And after his death I was indeed a madman. I tried to get over HIS suicide”. I play this poem on repeat. I left my dad alone for the first time in months. I knew he was sick. I came home that night to a body. He took his life. And I had to clean him up. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. I really want to believe in miracles. “One tiny step at a time”. I miss you dad.

It's so crazy how about two years ago I listened to his poem about suicide and now this one about feeling better

When I was young, my Mom would tell me to "shower it off", as my son grew older I would say the same to him. there's something magical about a shower. thanks for capturing it in this beautiful poem

this specific piece has stuck with me since he performed it for the live stream last month. it's one of my favorites.

this moved me. completely touched my heart and these words will stick with me for a while. thank you, jared

This is beautiful . so well written . heart wrechingly touching .

You know its good when you start crying halfway in.

Every time I listen to this, I'm so grateful to your resilience, and also to your friend who came in with that towel. Metaphorically, the loved ones who can burst in with the tools we need to take that leap are so important. It's that part of this story that first makes me cry. To those reading this, if someone has not done this for you, or has stopped doing this for you, you are worthy of it, it is not your fault it hasn't happened or isn't happening. Right now, this poem for me, I just took a shower. Getting dressed, finding my keys. Thank you Jared for being my dear friend when my loved ones aren't aware or aren't here or don't have the energy to burst in with a towel

I lost my best friend to suicide and it's been almost 3 years and this poem is such a blessing to listen too

I can listen to this 30x every day and it always makes me feel better

We should redefine the word tragedy as that which is impossible to get over

Jared's poems always hit me so hard and leave me in tears. I hope he knows just how talented he is with his words.

My mother died in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. The weeks after I don't even remember, except one moment sitting on my porch steps crying that I wish it were me instead, that I wish I'd been brave enough to speak when I sat next to her dying body hours before she passed. This piece brings that all back and reminds me to keep going for her, even if I can't share with her. It's coming up on 11 years later and I am happy, but the pain still creeps in here and there. Thank you so much for your words. I bought your book as well with this poem in it and your work is striking and beautiful and heartfelt. Thank you.

Why did this poem make me cry? 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💫

Thank you for this💙

i'm not crying my eyes out you are

I'm crying. This is literally one of my favorites pieces ever of the hundreds I've heard on Button Poetry. Much love.

"And then it is ten years later, and they are still dead, and you are happy." hit me like a god damn truck. this is the first time a poetry reading has ever made me cry. thank you for your beautiful words jared.

I feel nothing and everything at the same time, It makes no sense to me. I try whatever I can to distract myself from my pain, I try so hard to just stay away from my house so I don't think too hard. but at midnights when I come home from a long day I find myself filling my mind with so many thoughts and then there I am at this unbearable state which is more than just sadness. I don't feel like me anymore.

3 years later from the original video. I still come back to it. Every time I need a reminder .... To get up and do tiny things so I can live on

And then is ten years later... It has been almost 3 years but we need to keep going

This small 4 minute poem has gotten me through so many terrible things. I just want to say thank you Jared, I don’t think you can understand how helpful this has been. By far my favorite poem on this entire earth.

This is my favorite Button Poetry video. Thank you to this writer.

thinking about the pain of my loved ones is one of the things keeping me here... thank you for this reminder

I'm 300 miles away from my family. While visiting over Christmas, my brother died...there was debate as to whether or not he intended to, and despite them ruling it an accident part of me will always believe it wasn't. I had to go back home because classes were starting again in a few weeks and the coroners were taking ages to decide. They decision was made and I wouldn't have found out if I hadn't been calling my mother every few days just to see if we could hold his funeral any time soon. I stopped calling recently because my classes started, and so did the society meet ups, and having to live my life. Today I found out that they had his funeral two days ago and didn't tell me. I cried, loudly, for the first time in years. I planned on staying in bed, but I got up and took a shower...and got dressed...and made plans to go outside later to get bleach for my hair and maybe some snacks. I'm sitting at my laptop right now, talking to some friends about it, killing time while my phone charges so I can go outside and have music so outside isn't so overwhelming, and this poem came to mind. I'm crying again.

Everytime i feel like there is nothing to be done I search for this video and i watch it again

Lost my best friend the same way in January. You’ve put it all into words.

I feel like I've been crumbling a lot lately. I always come back to this poem when I'm in need of kind, honest words. Thank you.

My mom has been dead 10 years this september. This hits so hard, I have had friends try to kill themselves, I have held my daughters lifeless body as I breathed will into her. Thank you so much for this

beautiful and well performed. very touching

This poem helped me get the courage and when I get sad mourning a decade of abuse and trying to get over not having the perfect family unit I hear the lines "you cannot get over someone... And it's 10 years later and... You ARE HAPPY"

This broke my heart and built it back up in the span of 4 minutes. Thank you for these words.

The power in this poem is absolutely beautiful, I'm stunned

My mother passed away on mother's day 11 years ago. I'm always a hot mess on this weekend, but today I took a shower. This poem is lovely. Ty for your art.

Just discovered Jared during the first days of lockdown and am now obsessed.

this is true poetry, it's so touching because it's so true. This is true art, this is what all of literature should be about in order to be truly remarkable. If this didn't make your eyes water my friend, you're lying

Man did i ever need this right now, thank you Jared.

His words give me so much peace finally

My friend took her own life two years ago and I still remember everything about that night. Thank you for this poem

This is one of the best poems I've heard in a while. It had me in absolute tears because I've taken that shower and he couldn't of described it any better x

Almost brought me to tears wow

"Whatever your tragedy is, please use me as a cautionary tale." "We all give up, and we all hide, and we all wallow in our own... whatever awful we have to wallow in." These are some of the most important lines to me because it includes everybody, nobody how large or small the reason for your depression might feel in comparison to his experience. It allowed me to stop judging myself for relating so much without first having gone through his exact trauma. These lines allowed me to accept my role in this poem and remember I need to take care of myself too.

mad respect for you man

You do them one step at a time. Im crying. Thank you for making me get up today.

Wow. I think you are right, we should redefine tragedy. But even when you know that, when you have experienced that endless loss of a loved one, sometimes it isn't enough to prevent you from doing the same thing.

I remember the day my late girlfriend died. The hardest thing I ever done was not continue to teach for the rest of the day, pretending nothing happened. It wasn't the not breaking down in front of my students when I received that call. It was 18 hours later, lying awake in my bed for the entirety of the past day, desperately trying to find the courage to get up, and take a shower. Because getting up and taking a shower meant I'm ready to move on, it meant I'm ready to face the future without her. Almost 3 years now, she's still dead but I'm happy.

OMG THIS MADE ME FEEL SO MUCH. I DONT KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE WHAT I FEEL RIGHT NOW. BUT PUTTING IN INTO WORDS, WHAT YOU FEEL, IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING YOU CAN DO.

This just let me open the gates of 10 years of rivers that needed to flow. Every word felt. Thank you brother. Thank you!

Beautiful And I am sorry for anyone and everyone who have lost a dear person to their heart I send you my love and compassion

Wow. I'm frozen. This is so powerful and beautiful advice.

I wish I knew him. I needed this.

I've lost two friends, and one lover to themselves in this last year.. i've lost myself. But, my poetry holds me to this planet. Jared's words are the things that motivate me

I wish I could like this poem 1 million times. absolutely beautiful!

Wow. I just can't get over how words become feelings when they are aline in such a perfect way. Wonderful poem! Cheers for another day.

The best part is at the end when he says thank you. It is such a dramatic poem delivered with an appropriately somber performance But, then right in the end he says "thank you" like someone was giving out cookies to everyone and it was his turn.

you can see his fingers shaking and you can hear his voice quiver with every word. i love this, i love his words and i so much wish nothing but happiness for him.

This always hits deep. Especially if you did loose someone from depression. Or just in general

Yeah, I'm crying on this.

I just want you to know that I watch this video whenever a shower is overdue. It's funny how such simple and little things are impossible when you have depression. You are to me what the friend with the towel was to you

i love his voice & delivery

This hits so hard. His words. My heart. My oh my... this is spoken truth.

I use this every year on july 21st. 10 days before my birthday the man who raised me and showed me what real love is died. I cant bring him back or stop the pain but i CAN take a shower, get up. And keep doing those small things. Thank you

This hits so hard... especially when you've been through similar experiences. Wow.

saw jared singers name and knew it was going to be incredible. wasn't disappointed