To the man who taught me how to fall
To the man who taught me to learn from your own mistakes, and then repeat them
To the man who taught me to feel; To repress and express and explode
To the man who taught me to sit back and take it; To be trodden and stepped upon and still lift up other from beneath the soles of their entitlement
To the man who taught me to sit in public and sob in private; To shake and shiver and quiver with anger and sadness and helplessness
To the man who, with me, sat quietly screaming; Ears bleeding from the deafening silence of words unspoken, and smiled
To the man who taught me to first stand up before being pushed down in order to fall just a little farther
To the man who rusted when he could have squeaked and kept on rolling
To the man who helped me break and left me to mend; Who gave me ignorance, a cold shoulder, and another to cry on
The anchor on my ankle and wings on my back
The pedestal beneath my feet and glass ceiling above my head
My life & love, I owe it all
To the man who taught me how to fall