3rd Place, Youth Poetry

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Am I the Villain, by Brooklyn Wallace 

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Shatter- Ember - Whisper - Crimson - Unravel - Reckon 

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As I sit on the stairs, 

Silent tears cascading down my face 

Under my chin 

Unraveling my mask as I shatter, 

An ember of a thought enters 

A whisper in my mind. 

Am I the villain? 

I spend my life as the victim, convincing myself of my innocence Maybe it’s instinct 

But I’m still the villain 

If you inflict your crimson pain on others 

Are you the villain? 

Leaving strife and tears in the wake of your own 

Fighting for your life when you don’t need to. 

The very thing that makes you a villain. 

The closer you are to something evil 

The more you realize it as such 

And the more you know you’re looking into a mirror 

Which makes you want to run 

To hide from the truth 

And never have to reckon with what made the villain.