This is the best I can do for you
who tried to set me straight on the path to virtue when you yourself were known to stray.

And for you who taught me that lies
aren't just told by strangers, but can just as well lurk in the kitchen,
in the bedroom.

This is the best I can do for you,
the one with both brains and beauty whom I refused to hold when you were only hours old.

And you, who stopped short my childhood, cut the innocence from my eyes, and forced me to see something I never wanted to see -
a truth, nonetheless.

I confess,
I am happy where I am and
with who I am.
And I am who I am because of you.

I never wanted to leave,
but I am glad that I did,
sometimes I think.

You all played your parts,
but now my story begins
somewhere away from you,

and the best I can do
is to use what I've learned
and hope that it will make you all
either grit or grin,
and I welcome both.