Introspection

There’s a taut steel wire in you. 
I can see it straining against the pressures
Of the world, and the lack of stress
You show scares me.
No one can take that kind of
Weight and not be warped.
Sometimes I fool myself
Into thinking it’s snapped,
And it’s flailed and smashed the walls
Inside of you. Let down that
Inner drawbridge and allowed
The world to storm your fortress.
But you’d never do that. It would mean
Letting go of your sardonic smile
And your quick cold comments
And not being held to the ice and
The floor by twined steel braids.