Valence Poem by Mandy Lee

Stretched so thin my body can become a new type of glass.
So clear and transparent, so obedient to another's whim.
Watch it fold, watch it bend, watch it frizzle and crack and fray.
My head and my heart, just falling and crumbling into disarray.

I'll tell myself to be strong, but even then my voice has no breath.
Every breath I try to take will seem to choke me, like it's running on a different kind of air.