pain in life

he was just a boy
but his father shoved him
into being
a man
the pace of the maturity
mixed between the yearning for love
stifled any and every
relationship he had
he tried to shrink back
hide in the shadows
look tough
to be tough
blocking out feelings wasn't enough
they had to disappear
he had to forget them
he didn't want to smile
just in case his armor
would crack
but the boy
who was forced to be a man
did smile
the armor did break
and that's when the true
him
sparkled through
but quickly
it would vanish
because i think
he was afraid
of being
hurt
yet again

the story of someone i met once a long time ago