Second Chance

by Mackaully Lucia Parada

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.