Dear Lucy Q,
Uniqueness is a strange sort of thing; it can be a great ally or a formidable enemy. Others can't see the crippling grip of conformity, the controlling dictator. The Slave Master, harsh over its slaves, but you can break free of the chains. Freewill and determination. Truth and Strength. Standing for what you believe in. All these things are good. Yet some people will try and pull you down. When they say you are alone, reply that you are –so what? You can be alone without being lonely. When they laugh at your tattoos, laugh at their inability to be bold and express their opinions so clearly. When they pull you down, just remember that only means you're above them. There is no upper hand so I'm giving you mine. You have to stand up for yourself, but there is no shame in asking for someone to help you up. Reject anything that isn't truly you. Be yourself, everyone else is taken as a wise man once said.
I'm sorry I'm not going to be there anymore. I am truthfully sorry I won't see you grow and mature. The nineteen years we had were the best they could be and you are, frankly, an inspiring person. You are stronger than the knives that are thrown at you. Sadly I couldn't take them anymore. Well, do you have the time to listen to me whine? Yes? Well, let's start from the beginning shall we?
I was often referred to as The Clown Punk; everyone thought I was a freak- a clown. Well I may have seemed stupid but I wasn't. I heard their bullets. I felt them tear through my flesh and settle under my skin. It was like a movie, but someone had broken the remote and when everything feels like a movie, you bleed just to know you're alive. My music taste was pre-judged for me, I actually loved a lot of music. Being a 'Punk' doesn't limit you to punk music. Don't get me wrong I don't regret my life choices. I was the 'High Punk' I was the king of the punks. Then punks started to die out but I would never give up the punk values. I was alone and it, at the beginning, didn't bother me. I carved out my path in stone, but I didn't seem to realise how short-term that would be. See, in the summer of '69 I found a reason to live, rather than just exist. I had my new six strings and I looking very different. No tattoos for starters. That and my blue Mohawk. Somehow I managed to make your mother fall in love with me anyhow. I was in the park, as usual as my dad had kicked me out, and I was playing my guitar, Quinn- yes I know that's your middle name and I understand you're probably not too happy with that fact but… Where was I? Oh yes. Park. These young, innocent, sweet looking women walked towards me, I looked down, waiting for the hateful words. She asked whether I liked Pink Floyd, which wasn't so punk more rock. Once I'd said yes she smiled and said that her father lied then, you can have things in common with 'The Clown Punk' and then she asked for my name. Dustin, I reply. She asked many questions that night and at the end I had but one to ask her, why was she here, she's a pretty girl. She should be sleeping in a nice warm bed not huddled up on an old bench under the stars. She ran away from home, she'd fallen for The Clown Punk- though I didn't know that at the time. She loved, rightly so as well, Bon Jovi. We both fell in love either music and then for each other. Then… They took her. We weren't allowed to be married. We're thrown to the streets. It's clear why heaven called her name. She was an angel. She was needed back in heaven. Don't fall in love, it's just too much to lose.
I promised her fifteen years from that day. I promised your mother you would be honest. True. I promised that you would find yourself before I left to follow your mother. You never met your mother, but if you did, you'd understand why your eyes are alive where mine weren't. You look just like her. It was hard. But I left because I needed to join your mother. I love you. I will be forever with you, with this letter. Within my dog tags that are now yours. Take care of yourself. Trust your gut, not your eyes. I love you. Remember my words at the start and I'll be with you.
Love,
Dustin Blue