I was raised by a man with broad shoulders and a gentle heart A sign that my strengths would reside above my waistline I learned to stand up straight at an early age Not necessarily to improve my posture like my father had intended But I believed looking into his eyes would give me an all-access pass to manhood And by double digits I wanted to reciprocate his masculinity Nothing would have harmonized my earlobes like the words- You're a man now son
As I grew taller, I finally met the spheres into my father's soul And much to my surprise, they screamed a sadder melody than I had anticipated They leaned on crutches, crippled by societal catastrophes Their stories- captives to cultural constraints They stared at me blindly as if my presence was backbreaking My heart was crushed as my father's shoulders shook And the strengths I once desired were now fossilized by fear
To be a man -society grunts so effortlessly- is to be masculine And since masculinity and success are socially synonymous Obviously, success cannot be established without perfection or aggression or oppression
To be a man is to be unbreakable Because the slightest wrinkle in armor alludes to inability And combat is unavoidable regardless of swordsmanship
To be a man is to be rigid Because being fixed in outdated traditions is far easier Than challenging for innovative conditions
To be a man is to be emotionless Because passion is pathetic Sensitivity strikes the community as instability, not authenticity
To be a man is to be strong Because strength means maintaining control and independence Not establishing dependability or acceptance
Masculinity still towers over little boys just like me Presenting textbook answers for real world problems Masculinity is a skyscraper imposing its will on innocent civilians By replacing sunlight with systematic shadows And ripping shooting stars right out of the sky Masculinity forms internal thunderstorms harboring havoc For individuals that need more than rainfall for adequate growth We are not shrubbery photosynthesizing our thoughts into energy We are not born to throw our feelings into sealed vaults Our genuine intentions deserve to be delivered on silver platters
Gender roles are one way streets clogged by oncoming traffic Mirrored headlights approaching complete chaos There are no maps to point you down the right path There is no right path There is no right path Only roadblocks inhibiting you from any type of progress Life is meant to be traveled on unmarked ground Where men and women alike regulate the steering wheel regardless of society's traffic laws And I long for the day when my son or daughter looks up to me The day when my son or daughter stands up straight Looks me in my eyes and sees a portrait painted differently A soul actualizing strength, not personifying ingenuity