Poison In Power

• Sierra Danon, Grade 11, Glen Eira College -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

The shadows found in kingdom scream in the ears of their victims’ in the heat of envy and riches. The castle's walls grow high and swallow its subjects in the matter of power. Fighting is the one rule that is passed through generations of crowns and leave the dead decomposing quickly. The human mind is the key to conflict. Persuasion is the key to success. Power is the key to happiness. Power is the key to death. Yet, power swallows you whole, much like the shadows that lurk, power consumes the sweet sounds once present and the colourful masses of the natural world. And when the shadows are too much and your intentions are drowned in fear, the only way out is a questionable path, where imagination thrives.

Humankind is a dangerous species and must be contained. Our existence is as corrupt as our beliefs. Anything unfamiliar is eliminated until nothing exists except the golden symbol of authority, and our lifeless bones dug deep within the soil.

And as the world slowly seeps into poison, we smile in our graves at the mess we have created.