What happens to identity
When surrender is called?
The wrong side of history
The tiger that’s been mauled.

How do you bear the moniker
Defeated? Enemy?
Now living under their regime
Your choice is? “Happily”.

Wary of the kindnesses
That you rarely receive.
Your hand extends in friendship
but your heart says, “disbelieve”.

Someone else decided for you,
who your foes should be.
The axis tilted in the night
now you’re the “enemy”.

You gaze at your hated visage
and you scowl at the brazen one
who was simply caught living life,
you were no smoking gun!

You wish that you may find some hope
To tether you to life
To bring you back from bigotry, suffering and strife.

Your muted voice is quiet now
But one day you may try
To make sense of the whole **** mess
Or always wonder why.

Hey!
Can we love like we’ve never been hurt?
Can we eat dessert before the main and stay sane?
Can we frolick in the rain and blurt out passions like we’re setting them free and yet they still remain?
Can we dance like Dervishes on hot tar? We run to the car with our sodden apparel and turn to each other with a look, wild and feral.
Wet lips collide and slip to the side as we laugh with our heads thrown back, our jaws slack from smiling so hard! Can we go that far?
Can we breathlessly cling, one to the other, hearts beating like drums in our chests?
Can a memory not yet made be the one I love best?

What a waste
Making a safe space.
You were never going to be
a man of vulnerability.
No haven on this sphere
could guard you from the
whispers that you hear.
Your inner voice, the one you should ignore? You gave the floor.
What a waste.

Give me a sign
So you can be mine
And then we can see
What it’s like to be “we”.

Man, be YOU.
That’s enough.
All the ******* about being tough
Manning up
It’s a bluff because the myth of the “real man”
Doesn’t measure up.
He’s a puppet.
Poison in his veins. He’s a slave to his role in the game.

Let’s face the truth.
The dross that’s aimed at youth, toughen up! The boy needs a hand that’s rough. That’s. girl.  stuff.
What do we get if we can’t let him BE?
Toxic Masculinity.
That’s enough!
Man, be YOU.