I would've given birth
To you,
Endured whatever
Mothers do.
Instead, I did
What Dads do.

I rocked you
Til my future shook;
Watched you til
I couldn't look.
As you changed,
I changed too,
To do the things
That Dads do.

You were bathed,
Dressed and fed;
I loved you so much
I was saved.

If there's credit,
Well, I get it,
For teaching you to read.
I took the blame
When you got bored
With school's ABC's.

I followed you
In all your roles,
Your teams,
Your solos,
Your trips,
Your shows.
First to clap,
Last to sit;
I taped it all,
From start -
To finish.

I taught you
How to tie a lace,
Ride a bike,
Golf and skate.
When time arrived
For you to drive,
You learned
On standard,
Never stranded,
You came home alive.

Your highs
I took in stride,
By example taught
Humility's pride.
Your lows,
I couldn't internalize,
I dropped my guard
With my eyes.

When Dad's do well
It's a double edge,
The future wedge.
The world
Revealed
Desired you too.
I don't dismiss
What mothers do,
But when Dads do well,
Both lose you.

If you are a suicide survivor
Inbox me your name
And I’ll add it to my tattoos of others

You guys mean the world to me
And I have my own name on my arm
Because I too, am a suicide survivor.

If you don’t love me , I can take it
I only ask you
Spare me one more night
Just let me love your lies a little longer

A loveless kiss hurts less
Than a reality fuelled bite.

So...
There are allegations
About inappropriate relations
And I hear men say
"This is a hot subject right now."

Right now?

Well Sir, right now you have to consider if Ashley really wanted to come home with you.
Did Chevon only acquiesce
because she was tired of being pressed
at that one innocent drink you promised?

Right now you have to look at those idols that you hold so dear: actors, politicians, artists
and is it still not clear?
That right now
You are being asked to look into a past
That we have already lived through.
That I can tell you from personal experience is true.
That on the best day it's a passer by
And on the worst it's a professor, peer or partner groping uninvited up my thigh.
A ***** cannot hold a person down and **** them, people do.
So it's not genitals that are under attack in this millennial it is the lack of accountability.
It's a culture that needs to address masculinity.
Right now.