When I was a child my stepmother called me a Nigger Child,
This rage and hate.
Hate.
Hate.
Growing up in a universe of unknowns how was I to know
What that meant!
Young, innocent, torn apart by rage and the lack of Nike shoes.
How was I to know that wealth brought a calm childhood.
I lived in a fantasy, I caught bees, created wars in my back yard,
And dreamt of being the greatest sports player,
But none of that was me.

I had taped together glasses, worn out shoes, and Fear.
Fear.
Fear.
The kids would beat me up,
All i really wanted to do was eat candy
Watch cartoons.

If I had been born black I would have been called a cracker or a honky!
You know those useful words,
That deevolve time.

But I was a kid, accidently born,
Yet, born to fight, born to live.
I did not parellel time.
I was shy, I quietly listened,
I quietly grew.

I became troubled,
Drugs, alcohol, then a rebel without,
Because I did not know what else to do.
I was fighting against myself,
What a wonderful picture of a tornado I can draw for you!

The I found LSD, Jack Kerouac, and many others,
And all of a sudden the stars seemed new.
A soul was reborn then. I wanted everything, the sun,
The moon.
I wanted God, I wanted him to light my heart with strength of a hundred men,
I wanted God to set fire to my brain, and I wanted the intelligence of a million men.

I did everything as fast as I could,
I was drunk everyday on whiskey, women, and books,
I was drunk on Poetry and art.
I did it all too fast, and too soon.
I crashed, crashed, crashed,
I dried up and burned out like an abandoned building.

So I left my old life to start a new one.
I cleaned up,
I was able to watch the stars,
After some time the art and poetry moved back through me.
I now move in slow strides, and reflect upon my day.
The heavens are in my soul, the scared child drifted away.

Nigger, poverty, abandonment,,
this hate,
this anger,
this rage,
It all turned out to be illusion and I am,
I am free from it today.

A hard life always makes us stronger to see the light of the stars in the end.

Out of the darkest night, the sun always rises...and those who have the strength to see it in it's true beauty are always the better for the dark....wonderful dustin. you grew.overcame.and are wonderful because of it all.....

Light of Angels shine upon your soul,,,, You have overcome many obstacles in life,, Blessed are you,,,,, Hugs

Everything we go through in life makes us stronger. We must embrace every experience because it makes us the wonderful people we are now.

It is up to us to not let hate and greed rule our lives. And up to us to change those things in order for them not to be repeated through our kids as well. That cycle can be broken and you have proved it. At times it is sad to hear the things that some went through as kids. But we can either let it eat us up or we can decide we will overcome. Our past and what path we chose is what makes us who we are today.