Masculinity
it's not always a three-piece, it's
a t-shirt torn to shreds in the wilderness
A tearful cry that won't be stifled
by propriety. It's a smile
cast like a die, where the number
lands face-first in the dirt, but he climbs on
unconcerned. That's all fate is worth
to a real man
The cold does not care what he prays for
He takes it—not from someone unsuspecting—
From absence, Man hauls life in like a rope
Out of nothingness, he drills hope
For a future,
like sweet summer air,
breathed in/strawberry blonde hair
Back on earth, his worth is more than might.
He wrenches free his own mind
His right to be was born with him.
You want Masculinity? Take a mind and tell it
it's a bad thing to be so small to have to fight to survive but
there's no enemy in sight, so take that weakness inside
and kill it
Let him scream on the front lines. Let him build
forever in his mind, a bruise-black fortress, not a palace—
Made with love, mother of pearl, and gold.
Give him time, and a real man defines himself. Capture
his imagination and admire the future he lives up to. You know
he will listen and insist on climbing that peak alongside you. He knows
the top is only halfway
Photo by Kassandra Dick