you are soft clay,

when you are made to feel hard.

you are the seconds lingering

between the wind-up and the blow-

the time spent wondering

how much it’s going to hurt

when you are meant

to pretend it didn’t.

there are days where

you are going to feel the

emotional imbalance of

being one thing but pretending otherwise.

it is okay to be malleable:

to change from hard to soft,

even at the hands of someone else.

you are soft clay.

you are art,

you are the most beautiful before the glaze,

despite them saying they’re attracted to you

after you’ve hardened.