Only Solid Link in the Chain

Steel:

Heart; mind; fists; will

I am the strongest in my fragile little bubble

No one in it is okay

Neither am I

But if I break no one survives

I can't even cry

The tears are stuck behind this brick wall in here

The one that bears the callously scrawled titles of "protector" "leader" "off duty unofficial counselor"

None of this graffiti is in my handwriting

I didn't choose this

But to chip them away or scrub them off is to remove a piece of me

Isn't it?

If you don't choose who to be, but you accept the burdens as others place them on you

Are those pieces yours or not?