I’m breaking out

of this hell I called home.

I will not sit in this rancid, rotten

underground dome.

 

I’m showing no mercy

to my tormentors, no,

the demons who killed me,

who broke me to my bones.

 

I’m taking over this dungeon,

I’m holding on to hope—

to renewed dreams—

and I’m learning how to cope.

 

I’m driving out fear,

replacing my hate and blame

with euphoria and love,

forgiveness without shame.

 

Only I can take this blade,

and destroy it like a dream.

Forgetting and absolving

every scarred skin-seam.

 

I can slice the monsters

like they once cut me.

I can devour them,

like a meaningless pea.

 

Only I can destroy this nightmare

that I helped them build,

and fade away the chains

I coloured and filled.

 

I’m creating a new life

on the shell of my trauma,

and the sky reaches down,

pulling me past the drama.

 

My past is solid,

unchanging and real.

So I use it as a splint.

I use it to heal.

 

Because this is my world,

I can define the rest

of my fairy tale.

I can write this quest.

 

I refuse to be another prisoner,

another victim of the legion.

I am leaving,

but will return another season.

 

I will be back to resurrect

a monument of light

where this castle is standing—

imploring my peers to fight.

 

A beacon for someone

who needs to know

they can escape

the hell they call home.

---

Olivia Harris is a novelist and poet. She is a burgeoning advocate for mental illness awareness, and writes to aid those going through the fires that she has. She hopes that through her written work, others may find hope, a sense of community, and the inspiration to fight. She is seventeen years old, and has seven younger siblings. She has grown up in Missouri, and feels proud to be representing her state. She would like to thank her family for supporting her no matter what. You can find her on her blog.