The Pain Not Felt
“A man never cries”
Told when I was little
Or was it implied?
“Never let it dribble down your cheek”
A man speaks inside of me, I listen.
“Confide it within”
He says again, and so I did.
Built walls to cover up the pain
But it still lingered
Still simmered under my skin
Turning bones into ashes
Blood into smoke
Choking me, but it doesn’t escape my throat
I keep it hidden, Buried deep
Inside it must rot
Thinking it would fertilize the man on top
But it's more like broken glass
Broken pieces I live with
“Be a man” he tells me
His words etched inside my brain
“Pathetic” he whispers daily, I listen.
This is what it’s like to be a man
Can’t imagine it any different
Some are hollow
while others stuffed with pain
A hard shell all the same
From our mother's loving face
To the worlds cold embrace
Beaten, bloodied and bruised
Rituals that make men out of you
“A man never cries”
Told when I was older
Or was it implied?
I come from a tribe of warriors
That stole food from lions
I was raised a little more modern
But still feel their gaze
So I never let it dribble down my cheek
Inside me, they speak and I listen.