C'mon - really? I never would have believed that there were so many people all over the country, and abroad, who have completely disregarded the rights of original authors and simply posted pieces with little tweaks while calling it their own. I am really trying to have compassion; I recognize that this topic is sensitive and that people willing to plagiarize it likely suffer from some variation of the torturous hell I went through that served later as the inspiration for this poem, but the fact remains that the story, and the words, are mine - no matter how close they may hit home for others. Please do the right thing. It's been on his site for quite some time now, and you've gotten credit for that, but I would really appreciate it if you honored the work, my work, by citing me as the author or take it down. I don't want to be dramatic, but plagiarism really isn't anything to be taken lightly. Citing the original author is not only legally mandated, but the most basic way to show

respect for the thing that you clearly admire, or else you would not have taken such risk. I hope that the time since this was posted here has been good to you and that whatever you suffered has gone, or eased, and finally that you have had a chance to develop your own voice and writing ability to reflect what your own creative consciousness is conjuring. I feel confident that you would like to reach other people who suffered as you did and I sincerely wish that you have either had, or will soon get, the chance to do so on your own merits. -Rachael Bennett