Amorphous

by Ellen Xu, Del Norte High School '23

August 26, 2020

"Town" by Angela Zhang, Canyon Crest Academy '21

[“Glass is amorphous.” “What?” “Glass. It’s non-crystalline. Non-structured. Non-solid and non-liquid. It doesn’t belong in any one category. It gives itself its own definition.” “Maybe that’s why glass shatters easily.” “Everything breaks at some point; some just take longer than others. At least it was beautiful while it lasted.”] Glass had always held a special meaning to you All kinds of glass Blown glass, clear glass, smoked glass, broken glass Wherever you went The disorderly array of glass charms on your backpack Tinkled like wind chimes with each step You didn’t seem to be afraid that they might someday break But you didn’t like mirrors Unlike the others, you didn’t care about your own reflection Didn’t like being defined Didn’t like seeing how you appeared to be Because it wasn’t really you Glass appears to be solid But it’s deceptive In reality, it is unbound Free-flowing Neither solid nor liquid But something else entirely When your charms finally broke Thrown to the ground amidst the face of jeering and laughter You didn’t say a word Just picked up the broken pieces and carried them away It didn’t seem to bother you As much as they would’ve liked it to The glass was the same Broken as it was whole Glass can take on many forms Just as you could embody so many ideals all at once A figure of glass who could not be broken easily An insurgent who did not obey the words carved in stone A human being, once ordinary, who gave herself her own definition and transcended the unwritten boundaries You were not perfect You were not invincible Yet you were amorphous in a world of pure solid and liquid