He is a young man from gun-slinging Texas

He was just a boy when a car hit him and broke his right arm

He knew not the stability of having one home

As his mother took him from motel to motel after an eviction

This did not break his spirit

In fact, he learned to appreciate the things that he had

His father was not present for the important things

His father was not present ever for that matter

As a result, he defined himself as a man

He also found strength unlike anything he had ever known

He often found himself without the most basic of resources

Some days he had little food and water, other days he had no shelter

These circumstances caused him to grow up quickly

He learned that excuses and tears do not feed a hungry stomach

Kids at school would often make jokes about him

So often they would focus on the deeds and neglect of his mother 

He learned that he is greater than the opinions of others

This is when he came to the light to seek his purpose

Pain beyond what “normal” people can comprehend exists in his memory

He then used this pain to culture positive results

He has come so far in life

He has done what the statistics state are impossible

Thus, he knows he can go far in life

Because he remembers where he is from

Never shall he hide from who he is

As the pain of his past is the strength for his future

Terrance Thomas