Armour

Wrapped in a blanket 

as soon as you were born

that was the day 

when they put your heart on mute.

Piling layer over layer on your skin

you mastered the art of the human exoskeleton

Safely tucked into your cage

The more protected,

the more afraid.

Clinging on to your emperor clothes

You forgot what was underneath all along:

A skin gasping for light

Emotions boiling out of sweaty pores

An animal, who doesn’t know what it is

Until one day you lifted up the armour

And had a sneak peak

And you saw the animal

And you saw the heart 

And you cried,

Naked

George is an author, researcher, podcaster, chemist, molecular biologist and food scientist. You can follow him on Twitter @99blackbaloons , listen to his Spotify podcast George reads George, join his mailing list, or enjoy his books