People are metal
We color ourselves silver
Or gold or copper
We conduct electricity
And have the strength to do anything
We are resilient enough
To be burnt and twisted
And live on
Fighting against the rust

People are glass
Fragile and breakable
We open ourselves up
Let others shine through us
Seeing our true self
That is a rare gift
A beauty taking more courage
Than any could imagine
And when we have such courage
The irony is that we can be shattered
By a simple fall
From between tiny fingers

People are wood
We bear life
And green leaves
But cut us down with
A sharp bladed axe
We burn easy
But it's impossible
To rid our mark
That we leave
Smeared in black ashes

People are rubber
Bending to the will of others
This and that
Always bent out of shape
Springing to our flattened
Normal selves when no one
Else is watching
Striving, stretching to beauty,
Beauty impossible to achieve
When all the eyes are on us

People are like paper
They crumple and rip and tear
And no matter how much
You straighten it out
The crease is always there
They can be bent folded and broken
Destroyed beyond repair
Damaged from water stains and more
From animals beware
One sheet alone is strong and weak
It can do a lot
But wrap a thousand more nearby
And suddenly they are unstoppable
Able to hold 300 pounds
Or more