Sep 2018
I opened my mouth in search for words
the antidote to forever doubt
whether the goal is to survive
when I've lost the urge to thrive
the masculine should be immune
above the call I resist
immune to troubles of the world
I’ll offer truth to be observed
they say that men should not cry
instead we break deep inside
splintered pieces without respite
sodden though the eyes are dry
drowning in the sickness of the mind
with maladies shared by all
gender does not excuse the ill
from the torments in mirror's face
from the plate or by the view
consuming nothing instead of life
bodies wish for something more
denying what birth had blessed
in response the end is sought
much more quick that God allowed
the strong gender is still felled
to the grave by their hand
against this future I pause my hand
then scribbling words I must relate
men also suffer in false strength
at last succumbing to their end
my screams are sent into the void
faint whispers echo in return
perhaps I'm deaf to the reply
this is the illness I resist.
© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180926.
the antidote to forever doubt
whether the goal is to survive
when I've lost the urge to thrive
the masculine should be immune
above the call I resist
immune to troubles of the world
I’ll offer truth to be observed
they say that men should not cry
instead we break deep inside
splintered pieces without respite
sodden though the eyes are dry
drowning in the sickness of the mind
with maladies shared by all
gender does not excuse the ill
from the torments in mirror's face
from the plate or by the view
consuming nothing instead of life
bodies wish for something more
denying what birth had blessed
in response the end is sought
much more quick that God allowed
the strong gender is still felled
to the grave by their hand
against this future I pause my hand
then scribbling words I must relate
men also suffer in false strength
at last succumbing to their end
my screams are sent into the void
faint whispers echo in return
perhaps I'm deaf to the reply
this is the illness I resist.
© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180926.
The poem “All I Can Expect” was inspired by a meme that stated the following: “Men cry / men break down / men suffer from eating disorders and body dysmorphia / men have suicidal thoughts / men die from suicide / men suffer from mental illness / it’s not unmanly to struggle / we need to encourage men to speak out, not letting them suffer in silence”. I responded to the meme with words contained in the poem: “I scream into the void and it whispers back. Am I deaf or is this all I can expect?”
