They built me a cage, not of bars and locks
But loads of unspoken rules and burdening stereo
Hello, I am just a tired man
In the cruel world of “Men don’t cry.”

They taught me to hunt, compete, and slay
But to feel, to express, to expect was something never mentioned
Vulnerability might be the thing I craved the most
But it was seen as a weakness, a crack in the Armor I was forced to wear

So, the weight of my buried emotions hangs heavy as a reminder of an ache unspoken,

I look in the mirror and see a stranger staring with a void eye and a heartbroken

Anger

Anger became my only companion,
A fire boiled in my bones, in my clenched fists, behind all those slammed doors
I wasn’t healthy; it was all I knew.
But acknowledging it? Expressing it seems like a forsaken deed in my own name

Joy

Joy, Those rare moments of pure happiness
Visited me once in a while
But a smile too wide, a laugh too loud might raise eyebrows and questions
So, I put a silent reminder in my heart to tone it down

Fear

Fear was like the cold serpent coiling around my gut
It was a secret shame, A shame to hide behind the façade of bravado
It felt something like a torment, an agony I couldn’t confess
So, a shrug and a mumbled “It’s nothing, don’t worry” were my only defence

Love

Love, the most preciously beautiful yet confusing emotion for us all
It was a rose forced to bloom in the shade of our masculinity
I yearned to express it openly, to shower it on someone, anyone
But the societal pressure choked it to death, pressuring it to keep it hidden

Pain

Pain, the word struck in my throat, a refrain voice away
But it builds a dam within, and so a flood of emotion threatened to drown me
They taught me to fight, to conquer, to win at all cost
But a man can’t feel the sting of defeat, the weight of loss, or the ache of his own heart

Tears were for girls, an obvious sign of some plight
So, I learned to swallow them down, bitter as an unwelcome bite

“You have to be strong,” Like a rock against the tide,
the message was clear, echoing in my childhood ear
and now years have passed, and the cage feels tighter than ever
My eyes, once sparkling with youthful bliss, now hold broken stories of desire

Is this what it means to be a man?
A lifeless statue, devoid of emotions
Can’t the bravery of men coexist with a tear that falls gently down a cheek?
Is men’s vulnerability a sign of weakness, or is masculinity all illusion of society's ideal

By strong, they meant never flinch, never a tear
Weakness is a flaw, a burden you cannot bear

Looking at the young boys around me, I see the cycle following
The young soul mimicking the same bottling up their emotion, swallowing their tears
And the fierce protectiveness washes over the real man inside me
As I glance at them with a desire to rewrite the script, to offer them a different path

I built a life and achieved success, but a hollowness settled somewhere in me
And so, I release a silent plea to set the prisoner within me free.

But I say, let the tears flow one last time
Like a cleansing rain washing away the years of bottle-up emotions
I say, Let the laughter fill the air, giving wings to a joyous bird to fly
Let love cherish our hearts, and pain embrace our soul

The world needs men who feel, who dream, who care
Men who wear their heart on their sleeves, not as a badge of weakness
Let the world know, Men are whole with beating hearts,
With teary eyes, with burning passion, with carrying compassion

Let them know,
Men can feel
Men can fear
Men can fly
Men can fail
And
Beyond the cage of lies
A real man can cry

.    .    .