Eight

I remember the minute

It was like a switch was flipped—

I was just a kid who grew up strong enough

To pick this armor up

And suddenly it fit

God, that was so long ago, long ago, long ago...

I was little, I was weak and perfectly naive

And I grew up too quick

Now you won’t see all that I have to lose

And all I've lost in the fight to protect it

I won’t let you in, I swore never again—

I can't afford, no, I refuse to be rejected

I want to break these bones 'til they're better

I want to break them right and feel alive

You were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong—

My healing needed more than time

When I see fragile things, helpless things, broken things

I see the familiar

I was little, I was weak, I was perfect too

Now I’m a broken mirror

But I can't let you see all that I have to lose

And all I’ve lost in the fight to protect it

I can't let you in—

I swore never again

I can't afford to let myself be blindsided

I'm standing guard, I'm falling apart

And all I want is to trust you

Show me how to lay my sword down

For long enough to let you through

Here I am, pry me open

What do you want to know?

I’m just a kid who grew up scared enough

To hold the door shut

And bury my innocence

But here's a map, here's a shovel

Here’s my Achilles' heel

I’m all in, palms out, I’m at your mercy now and I'm ready to begin

I am strong, I am strong, I am strong enough to let you in.

I’ll shake the ground with all my might

I will pull my whole heart up to the surface

For the innocent, for the vulnerable

I'll show up on the front lines with a purpose

And I’ll give all I have, I'll give my blood, give my sweat—

An ocean of tears will spill for what is broken

I’m shattered porcelain, glued back together again

Invincible like I've never been