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Am I the Bad Guy?

Cover artwork by Artur Zhuk, age 13

Nicole Zeng

July 18, 2022

Department: Poetry

Issue: Who Am I?

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The world is so quick
to categorize us as black or white
When really
we are gray all over

People lie, and people cheat
And people kill, and people bleed
Yet who knows who really is
As good (bad) as they seem

Being human is evil
And hiding it is normal
So if everyone’s lying to each other
Who’s to say I’m infernal?

Context and timing
Controls how we’re portrayed
Hence here I am questioning
Which side I’ll be on today

Wrong or right
I’ve been debating my whole life
But when push comes to shove
Am I really the bad guy?

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Nicole Zeng is a 10th grader from Houston, Texas. Nicole enjoys music, dance, reading, learning about foreign cultures and languages, fashion, skateboarding, creative writing, and poetry.