Hero

"Armor Cracks Quietly"

I never asked to be a hero.
I only learned how to walk through fire
because no one ever came back for me.

They called it strength—
how I stitched my skin with silence,
how I turned my heartbeat into a shield,
how I smiled with my teeth
and bled where no one could see.

But I’m not made of steel.
I’m made of sleepless nights
and promises I never dared to ask for.
Of fists that tremble,
of battles I fought behind closed doors
just to look calm in the daylight.

You wanted a savior.
You saw the smoke behind my eyes
and thought it was a beacon.
But this—this is survival,
not sainthood.
I break too,
just not where you can see.

And maybe that’s the cruelest part—
You only loved the legend,
not the soul beneath the armor,
not the voice that whispered:
"I’m tired of saving everyone but me."

- Onnaya