Born into chaos, 

Trauma from the start. 

Abused and abandoned, 

Fear weighed down his tiny heart. 

Always felt alone, 

Searching for connection. 

Wanting only to fit in, 

But never having a best friend. 

Unseen and unheard, 

He felt like a ghost. 

No one to step up, 

When he needed them the most. 

From a lost little boy, 

To a trauma laden teen. 

He began to find relief, 

In a bottle, in some weed. 

As he grew up, 

He searched for a purpose. 

Anything with a meaning, 

Something to make him feel worth it. 

At home he found no hope, 

Drug addicted parents set the precedent. 

Mom would run, dad would chase 

He became a burden and irrelevant. 

2 / 4

A massive void in his world, 

Caused by the lack of safety and love. 

But then he found relief, 

In the harder type of drugs. 

A headfirst dive into oblivion, 

Became a cherished reprieve. 

But this gift he thought amazing, 

Turned and beat him to his knees. 

Fast forward to adulthood, 

Never experiencing real love 

No hope or ambition, 

No real faith in God above. 

Programmed by his past, 

But he wanted to be better. 

Still comfortable in that chaos 

Emotions bursting from the pressure. 

Stress and fear held him down, 

“Playing the cards life handed me.” 

Lashing out and causing pain, 

To myself and my family. 

Wanting to be sober, 

To find a better path, 

But unable to shake free, 

Of the bondage of his past. 

3 / 4

Began to find some hope, 

Put together some good things. 

Took the steps needed to grow, 

Things slowly began to change. 

Made some good decisions, 

Life began to improve. 

Found some joy in this life, 

But still had more pain to pursue. 

Fell off one more time, 

This one a different type of bottom. 

Kept the outside things together, 

But inside his spirit rotted. 

Fast forward to today, 

I found another chance. 

And I’m so grateful for the gift, 

And have taken a new stance. 

I have unconditional love, 

From my wife and my kids. 

You’ll give me reason to fight, 

You’ll give me a reason to live. 

So grateful for you my sweet girl, 

For not giving up on me. 

I will give this chance my all, 

To become the man you need. 

4 / 4

I have learned a lot about myself, 

And I am healing from my trauma. 

I will learn to live without the chaos, 

Give up the fight and constant drama. 

I love my life today, 

And I am happy for this chance. 

I will work hard to back these words with action, 

To become my best version of a man. 

The future looks so bright, 

And my past no longer pulls me down 

I thank God for this gift 

For this blessing that I’ve found 

I am a work in progress, 

It won’t happen overnight. 

But I will strive daily for atonement, 

For our family I will fight. 

Staying sober and committed, 

To this new path of mine. 

If I do this every day, 

I know that I’ll be fine.