Shell Game

#acorn (not my first post, but one of my better early ones)

Everybody's life is tough,
And so our skin grows thick and tough.
Still those bruises split and swell
Until they harden into shell.
Then, we crawl and scrape along
And kid ourselves we've gotten strong,
When all we do is shrink and hide,
And pull our legs and heads inside.

Now you say you want to see
My inner soul, the real me.
As if I could just strip away
All these horned and armored plates!
If I pried them off for you,
Is there something you could do
To soothe the pink and tender flesh
That beats beneath my bony breast?

Don't you walk away from me,
And leave me here in misery!
I dared to have some faith in you;
That's one mistake I'll always rue.
I shuffle off into the dark,
And think how much I missed the mark.
Naked truth bears such a price
That few of us will pay it twice.