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Dear addict, Dear alcoholic, Dear meth head, Dear crack whore, Dear anyone struggling with addiction,

I am writing you this letter in the hopes that you someday come to know just how beautiful you really are.

I mean, has anyone ever told you just how much you deserve to heal? Has anyone ever said to you, “My God, my God, even with those track marks, even with those sunken, sullen eyes, even with that tired heart, I am so glad that you are still here.”

Dear addict, Did you know that you are not a bad person even when you use? Did you know that just because your problems are more obvious, it does not make you any more different?

Dear addict, Dear leech on society, Dear open wounds,

Do not feel like an infection just because your soul is so inflamed. Do not pick your skin tonight. Do not tell yourself you are worthless even after stealing all of your mother’s money from her change purse.

Do not plan your funeral on the street next to the subway because you do not have to die tonight! Because I know those dirty, blistered feet just need to rest, and they can rest here.

Close your eyes.

Dear addict, I love you. Dear addict, You are not your problems. Dear addict, I’ve seen you rise once before. Dear addict, You have a future.

Dear addict, look now to the mirror. Never have I seen a sewer rat with such hopeful eyes before. Never have I seen a piece of garbage with such a loving, beautiful family.

Dear addict, Do you see what I am seeing?

Dear human, you are worth every single hour you will spend recovering. You are brighter than any star you were born from. You are more loved than your aching, broken heart leads you to believe, more than you can even imagine right now.

Dear mother, father, brother, sister, lover, best friend, Do it for yourself. Do it because you deserve the treatment.

I watched you die a little today