Thank you, black eyes.
Thank you, frozen pipes.
Thank you, empty wallets and grumbling stomachs and shaking hands.
Wet eyes and cracked lips and roofless houses.
And best of all, the nonexistant houses.
The nights in abandoned tennant buildings, and crack-addled flop houses, and backseats of other peoples’ cars.
Thank you, corner drug dealer.
Thank all you students, for the pointed fingers and the spiteful laughter,
for the
“Hey gringa”
And “hey fatty”
And for every bloody night I spent alone on a floor.
Thank you, drunken father.
Thank you, broken mother.
And thank you, darling brother, for blaming that on me.
Thank you, kindly barkeep,
For ensuring that I can’t come clean up in your bathroom,
(without being hit with a pool cue and thrown into the street.)
Thank you, my first love,
For doing me the kind favour of taking advantage of me.
And thank you to you,
(you know who you are),
For locking me in your basement,
And getting me hooked,
And using me,
Abusing me,
Attacking me in every way,
Filliing me with rage and using it against your enemies.
Thank you, master,
For enslaving me and
Coaxing me
With those most compassionate methods of
Blackmail and bribery
And thank you all, from the bottom of my scarred and wounded heart,
For making me who I am.
For making me understand how much worse it could be.
Because I don’t complain anymore when the electricity gets turned off,
Or I forget to bring my lunch money,
Or someone tries to hurt me.
For I know to be grateful,
To be stronger than I ever could have become in the warm and cozy confines of a comfortable existance.
And I am strong.
I am thankful.
And I just wanted to thank you,
For helping me out so splendidly,
So effectively,
And so unintentionally.
I hope you look at this backfire with a new eye,
Knowing that I am doing better than ever,
And that I would like to thank you.