War Paint

Turns out it's not ok
to not be ok.
 
Donning war paint for a friend
 sounds heroic
  and you truly want to be that hero
Until you're actually asked to be
 at inconvenient times
  repeatedly
   embarrassingly
And you can't fix it.
You just have to keep hearing about it
 again and again
  until you can't bear to listen
And you take the lack of progress
 personally
  because war paint only feels heroic
   when you're winning
And this fight isn't the one
 you signed up for -
  it's thankless
   and it never ends.
So you fold up the cape
 wipe off the war paint
  and wash your hands of
   this mess
 
Because every hero
has limits.