Masculinity By Stephan Clare Poem by Kevin Prou

and the Titanic sank a few of the

survivors bought themselves time by

pushing their fellow passengers under

the water to drown by using the weakest

fathers as floatation devices they live

to hear the screams of the dying for a

few extra minutes than that it's a

pretty good definition of masculinity as

a boy you're trained to always be on top

no matter what

before you learn to read you don't need

a dictionary to tell you that love and

weakness of the same definition your

fists are brushes used to paint faces

black and blue to cover up anything red

orange yellow gay bi lesbian violet that

might be showing to do them this favor

until they are strong until they stop

dancing until they fall in line or die

trying you are expected to shovel

expectation on them until it fills their

lungs until they're buried so deep you

can't hear them saying and maybe one

little might choose to turn his

wrists inside out but that wasn't your

fault

he didn't mean to kill him you'll dig

him an unmarked grave you'll cut him

down to just six feet because whilst

potential goes great with a mahogany

finish you'll rip him open looking for

rainbow blood and finally his heart that

you said loved wrong and pumped only red

and when his veins on colorless you

leave a mirage but your insecurities

your love your weakness you'll salt the

soil so once it settles no flowers will

bloom you'll say farewell to him with

heads bowed because that is what is

expected of you and you will be absolved

is your attachment is building a coffin

for his boyfriend who stands apart

praying to no one who will listen I'm
still you shouldn't wear that tribe

bracelet even though it's hidden under

the black clothes that make us all look

like fools there isn't a word in our

language for a mother who has lost her

son so when she appears gripping the

hand of a little brother who can't

understand what happened to his hero I

hope you tell him - her clothes stitched

from sandpaper because that way he'll

learn to never reach for a hug and asked

his mother why she doesn't just hold his

head under the water now because at

least her hands will be

familiar teach him to hold all his

crayons outwards like knives because

when you were coloring in everyone else

it is so much easier to stay inside the

lines because that's what you want isn't

it

that masculinity that's strength that's

what you expect some boys are born

before their time some boys are born

like this and when they stand in front

of you every day arms outstretched check

hatch your nails I hope you can tell me

again why they are the weak ones thank

you