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“Suicide Note,” by Janice Mirikitani, is about an Asian American college student who commits suicide by jumping from her dormitory window. This poem is read as the suicide note that was left behind by this young woman. Her last thoughts and feelings were left on this note, describing why she did what she did. The pressure to succeed that this student felt from herself and her parents was far too much to overcome.
This poem begins by describing some of the harsh feelings associated with failure. She starts by writing “not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough.” These phrases are repeated throughout the poem. For one reason or another, this woman felt that her accomplishments were not perfect, therefore not worthy. She is not congratulated on how well she does. She apologizes for failing to achieve a perfect four-point grade average. She says “Each disappointment, ice above my river.” Failure stops her river from flowing, as if it stops her heart from beating. Because of these failures, she strives to work harder, in turn setting herself up to fail once again. Many of these emotions only existed because she did not feel that her parents were pleased.

A majority of this note was written as an apology to her parents probably trying to show them that they pushed her to her max. She is pushed to the point where she would rather take her own life, than live attempting to please her parents. They did the opposite and pushed her away. The parents never thought that the constant harassment would make her suicide, from the parent’s point-of-view they were only trying to get her to the top. Once the parent’s realized what they have done, it was too late.
The student in this poem feels that she is obligated to satisfy her parents at all costs and because she is unable to satisfy her parents, she is unable to satisfy herself. She is just a tiny sparrow, distraught and caught in the wind. She works so hard at her schooling and...