This shell

Look at the shell, pretty but vacant

Don't get too close, the illusion is fragile

Closer inspection finds the flaws and fractures

What appeared hollow is instead full of darkness

Listen to the cries, but never hear the message

Praise the victims, but don't let them air outrage

Destroy monsters without seeing they were victims

And then tell me you love me and won't do this to me

I'm an animal caged by fear and expectation

If I fail, I'll be destroyed like any other monster

This is my fate given at birth, and I never escaped

But somehow I must find happiness in this trap? How?

Look at this fine shell, riddled with scars

The soul inside is so old now and withered

There is no hope for cures, or for forgiveness

There is only helpless rage for a life I can't steer