armor mantra

Never trust no more.
Never make that mistake
again, again. Oh no, not
again. And the armor
goes on feeling
oh, so strong
as the guard comes up
and their vision dims
to a visor slit
they can just squint through.
Imagining everyone bad as you.
You have well-trained another
new warrior, hard.
Leery, wary and cagey,
no - caged and scarred. With
always the guard up and ready
to cry. Imagine the army
you've raised up and running
from you, steadfast on the way
to die? Sworn to live every day
fighting scared with mad,
remembering and cursing
who they once were? When trust
seemed a makeable bet to lay.
You improve and uplift
so many defenses
this way.