Problem Child

I have something inside me, boiling and burning.

It scratches and claws painfully at my throat.

It makes me bleed, my eyes swell.

Suffocating me, blocking my air as a silent “Please.” rings out.

I whimper and clutch at my throat, trying to make the pain stop

Images dance around my head as the event of today rolled out like a movie, making me cry my aching heart out.

The image of your angry face pops into frame, making me let out a cry.

“Why?” I scream in pain; “Why?”

You never answer my pleas, you never do.

All you did was cheat and scam, using me like some needle

Injecting yourself with all you took from me then tossing me out into the trash.

“AM I THE PROBLEM?! AM I THE MAD ONE?! THAT’S WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!” I yell at the shattered mirror.

My head rings out loudly as I lay down, curled up in a ball.

I vented my frustrations out onto paper, my tears blending with the ink.

I kept writing till the page became nothing but two words, carving the paper to shreds.

“PROBLEM CHILD.”

Morgan Wright, Grade 9

Creative Writing Major

"Problem Child" was awarded an Honorable Mention from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards