sleeping at last, eight

I remember the minute
was like a switch was flipped
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 that 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 wanna break these bones
'til they're better,
I wanna 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
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
and I will pull my whole heart
up to the surface.
For the innocent,
for the vulnerable,
and I'll show up on the front lines
with a purpose
and I'll give all I have,
I'll give my blood, I'll 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