One Above Maximum Capacity

Protruding between plates the mountain rises
Beckoning the eyes higher until the neck strains.
They pause, as green growths emerge from its skin
And softly sashay with the wind,
Dancing a step they’ve known since birth,
Gently greeting a long-forgotten friend

Yet the mountainous exterior is only a ruse.
The top plateaus and caves
Revealing something more, or maybe something less.
But something is different — something sets it apart.
Perhaps the blemish serves only to infatuate the eye
Instead of divert it

How could anyone know of the chaos within?
Scorching fumes conjugating in every nook and cranny,
Fire plasma churning and wandering through the depths of the dressing basin
Everywhere and anywhere at once,
Searching for a hole to crawl in before the cold sets in,
Before the suffering becomes unbearable, unable to be ignored,
With dreams of the molten tear rising another day

What a terrible curse,
For the very essence of agony: to fester within
But lack the breath to scream

Rage, hate, confession — all of them explode
Like a mighty river from a relenting and worn-down dam
Recklessly ravaging the mountain and beyond.
Onward dogs of war run,
Rushing unchallenged through fields,
Devouring unfortunates that stumble into their path

Until nothing remains
But the remains of nothingness
For now the mountain lies dormant.
The festering has been quelled.
But the anger and sorrow have burned all they touched —
The sun cannot shine through the ashes today

Alex W., 17
Tampa, Florida

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