“Thou art a
villain,” Tybalt.
Act III,
Scene I – Romeo & Juliet.
I thought of
this quote on
my drive to
work this
morning.
I was
cursing the poor
driving of
some unfortunate fool,
who made the
mistake of
driving too slow
in front of me
in the fast
lane.
I thought of
them: a villain.
Which made
me wonder
how often I
have been the
villain in
other people’s
stories.
We all think
of ourselves
as the hero
of our stories,
it’s common
enough to have
its own sort
of trope in film
and TV,
books and even music.
I do my best
to never be the
villain at
all, but I’m sure in some
telling by
others, I’m the worst
person they
have ever met and
they hope to
never come across me again.
“By my heel,
I care not,” Mercutio says.
Which is how
I suppose I should
respond to
the thought of being the
bad guy in
some stranger’s story of
our meeting.
Yet, I
linger on it.
Villainy. By
my hand?
Surely not.
And though,
it is likely true.
I have been
someone’s villain.
A burden
unconsciously borne.
Conscience
whispering a reminder
to always be
better, kinder, gentler,
and be not a
weight on the shoulders
of
another. And not be fortune’s fool.
