by Mackaully Lucia Parada
First Place Student
It was all I ever wanted -
“A second chance.”
You said
“lost cause.”
They said
I was at the point of no return.
The failures of my past
Far exceeded
My potential to ever have a future
Beyond the ashes.
You said
My past was too broken
My problems were too big -
It was never that
I just couldn’t do it.
You never told me
“you can overcome this.”
I never heard anyone tell me
I was loved.
You made sure I knew
Life is hard.
Even though
I had resilience in me
I needed to know
Someone believed in me.
For the first time in my life
The lies seemed so true.
I wondered how
My life had value.
Until you made me believe that
I was walking destruction.
If I never met you
I wonder where I would be
Today.
For the person I have become,
I have you to thank.
(Now read this from bottom to top.)
Read from top to bottom, this poem reflects the perspective of an abused person writing to his/her abuser. Read from bottom to top, this poem reflects the perspective of that same person, now writing to the social worker who changed his/her life.
Mackaully Lucia Parada, BSW, is an MSW student at the University of Michigan School of Social Work who plans to work with children and youth in a healthcare social work setting upon graduation.