I Count The Stars (by James Leland Ludeau III from Lafayette, LA)

You once laid across my blankets of my bed
wrestling your demons
fighting your way out of the darkness
and i fed you and bathed you
i looked after you
tried to make you feel safe
tried to be your shelter
in a storm of your own creation
watching as you tried to un-do what you'd done to yourself
sweating out the poison 
reacting to the toxicity of your own addiction
i never understood going to a dark place
as i was always a child of the Light
so i lay next to you and assured you that it would pass
that this struggle would be a temporary process
i wanted you to be ok
i didn't want to shun you like your family had done
so that night we counted the stars
waiting for the darkness to exit your body
but like a vine it grew and smothered your mind
and you pushed me away
now i lay here and wonder how you're doing
see, i still care
and i count the stars on my own
not to usher out the darkness
but to bask in their light
and i say a prayer into the night wind
that someday you will stop hiding behind facade
and show the world how gorgeous you really are