A Hero's Armour

I stand alone after tonight's battle,
Over fields of fallen.
I look down and see my face on every corpse.
Some are torn apart.
Others are charred black.
But the ones with smiles scare me the most.

My sooted armour absorbs the glow of dusk,
Making me a living silhouette.
My hand tries to wipe myself clean,
But the blackness sticks
And brushing it away pulls something inside of me.
Skin stretches, muscles tear.
Soul fissures.
A layour of armour sheds off my body.

My burning skin begins to cool in the twilight.
The night will give me time to heal.
But I know the Sun will rise again
(as will the enemy),
And another piece of me will be torn away.
I look down and see that I'm getting close to bone.

How many pieces of myself have I lost to you?
How much of me will you finally take?
I wake every morning to your smile
But I'm so afraid.
I don't want to be like you.
You continue to smile
And think otherwise.

The moonlight floods the land
As my skin turns to scars
(only to be ripped open again).
I realize that soon there will be nothing left.
I will lay there, broken and shattered
With only a smile on my face.

My crusade has justified my pain.
But even heroes get tired of fighting,
And this hero's armour is getting thin.

Gravity pulls the moon off the sky.
The mountains try to slow the rising Sun,
But the Golden Chariot rises
(as it will rise for all time).

A tear escapes from my eye.
Running down split skin.
Only fear keeps me standing.
And the battle is about to begin.
I charge into the enemy,
Knowing this hero's armour is getting thin.