Ok before you read this, I want to make sure you understand my intentions.
Firstly, in this poem, I am not trying to make a sexist statement about men's superiority. This is an attempt to share my experience and struggle as a man in a culture that (I feel) is “intolerant” of me as a man. I am probably one of the more compassionate and committed men you will ever meet. I have three children who l love whole heartedly and would do anything for. While I feel that I have an innate nurturing ability, I still love to be “masculine” but feel that in our day, I am forced to repress that which makes me who I am.
Secondly, this is one of a two part series. The next poem will relate to a culture that attempts to push the “Female” of our day into roles that are viewed as “liberating”. However, it – in a new way – forces her to adopt new cultural paradigm that is no better than the previous (instead of offering a new option).
Edited man
Does all that he can
Super Hero
Model Citizen
Eats Raisin Bran
When they first found him
He was just a Brute Beast
Now he waits for others
before he starts his feast
Mild Mannered
More Feminine
Then he’s ever been
Never a whisker on the tip of his chin
They think him reborn
Remade
More Refined
He never hunts
Or tries to “unwind”
No more gruff patterns
No more sharp edges
He can breastfeed a baby
While trimming the hedges
On the outside he’s perfect
From the floor to his grin
Right Clothes, Right Words
Right Actions, Right Trim
But inside he’s dyeing
He failing to breath
Can not find an answer
In all that he sees
His life, a castration
Of all that he is
The culture defines him
What a “good man” he is!
So much for what’s mutual
We’ve by passed that stage
Who cares for what’s equal
He now “belongs” to this era
And the “Culture” the “Sage”
A man is not lazy
He can be responsible too
He’s more than a beast
That belongs at the Zoo
There’s value in:
masculinity – strength – the mechanical mind
the hunter – gatherer – fisherman’s brine
Mathematics – Logic
They weren’t created by Man
But how do you explain why “he” is more “bent” toward them
There is a difference
We all know that its true
But for some reason
we think
the world would be better
if we “fit” the same shoe
