He died,

And although I tried,

Deep inside 

Relief sighed.

He passed away,

And all I could say,

To him today

Was, hey!

You were my misery,

Joy of youth razed, you made me jittery.

Swerved rebuke, you were slippery,

Considered me a frippery.

Butt kicker.

head flicker,

Unable to escape bullying quicker,

Morphed from carefree to quitter

Thank you, though,

Formally too slow,

Went with the flow,

You made me grow.

Confidence grew.

Made me anew,

Situations once limited, now can-do

All thanks to you.

Today I'm much stronger,

Scared no longer, 

Defiant anti hatemonger

Now unafraid to saunter

Through life,

Resisting strife

Treasuring freedom of expression

Without reminiscent aggression