Courage

The only time one can be really courageous is when one is vulnerable.

I get so disgusted sometimes

When I see what society

Has made of masculinity

 Only one emotion: anger

Fortress of brittle bravado

Disguising what makes him human

If he is hurt inside or out

Reveal nothing, let it fester

Then spill out in bullying rage

Repulse his creativity

Prefer ballet to football? gasp

Completely unacceptable

Men, do not nurture your children

Feel afraid? Put up a false front.

Well, maybe they like it that way.

But I see cookie-cutter men

With layers of painted faces

Row upon row of violent w****s

Once I saw unbridled courage

Wrestling match, gave everything

Only to end up defeated

He forgot I was there, a girl

Witnessing his raw emotion

Disappointment, sadness, upset

But I was never more proud of

anyone than I was of him.

He fought like a warrior.

I saw in him, the gallantry,

What good men are capable of

I saw his soul and was impressed.

Reviews

[PWells]

I so love this write and I do agree with you.

[The Twin Arenas]

pretty great. double edged sword, though. when we do prefer football, we get labelled as dumb stump jocks. there's some weird double standards working. masculinity is like, the weirdest thing.
good poem, though. I like thinking about that stuff for a minute.

Ballet is great, of course. So is boxing.

[Tate Morgan]

Very interesting thought here fathers Leaves us wondering if men can learn to overcome their teachings

[Christyn Jeffries]

I certainly hope so. :)

[Erik Daniel]

Wow. This is deep. Men need to get back to being men! We shouldn't be ashamed to cry or do things that other guys see as girly. Be yourself! Great write!

[Christyn Jeffries]

Thanks. You are right. Our society has pressured both genders into unfair stereotypes.

[Erik Daniel]

I totally agree! You should check out some of my writing! I think you would like it.

[A. Amos]

I really love your style of writing, very intriguing and simply marvelous:

[Christyn Jeffries]

Thank you.

[Author Unknown]

Dear Christyn, I happened to saw your post. You tackled something very interesting on your piece.
Only from a different perspective. You can see beyond facade and guise and what has been portrayed as norm for man...Your not impressed by such bravado and nothing but just rage and masked emotions which somehow makes a man tough, immovable, solid as foundation. A shoulder to lean on, our knight in shining armor. But without a woman, man is flawed. You prefer openness and transparency. You prefer communication than silent treatment.
I like your tone that courage are not only seen in toughness and roughness. Somehow this macho complex doesn't really cut through the cheese. You are not talking about strength but weakness.
Its real courage when men be home and help raise their children
Its real courage when men help with house chores
Its real courage when men cry and not hide their emotions
Its real courage when men doesn't leave and abandon his family
and responsibilities to his spouse
Its real courage when men admit that they are wrong
Its real courage when men give up the remote so his better half
could watch " The Bachelor " or " Dancing with the starts " instead
of his favorite football.
And I like the way you end your piece. You appreciate something
though it appears a sign of weakness or imperfections to others.
Its not flaws but the other side of men, that makes him complete...
You saw it and never held back.
You have done very well here Christyn. I applaud you for condensing
this into a poem like style where it could have been a short story or topic.

[Christyn Jeffries]

Thank you so much! You understood this very well. Thank you for seeing what I saw.

[Author Unknown]

my pleasure :)

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Amen! Everything that you said is undeniably, emphatically true. Boys are being mollycoddled into whimpering adolescents, who in turn become girlie men. Our society is cheating itself of the greatest attributes it has to offer: strong men and intelligent women. I’ve never seen a society more intent on destroying itself from within. Worse, parents, the few that are present, fall in lockstep with this political correct nonsense.

I can feel your anger, while at the same time, I lean into the essence of your admiration of him in a moment when he let down his guard.

Great job!

[Christyn Jeffries]

I wouldn't say they are being made into girlie men. More like thay are being taught that having any emotion other than anger and lust is wrong, and pursuing any interests like dance is revolting because it's "feminine" (and we all know that anything to do with women is horrid beneath men). There is better way to be strong than faking it.

[KAin]

Beautiful work, beautifully put. Excellent use of metaphor throughout this piece to say what needs saying. Excellent work. Keep it up!

[Christyn Jeffries]

Thank you!

[Chris]

It is so easy to applaud success and to forget about those that did give it a true attempt - they tried, really tried their best. The trying is important - it proves the heart in all of us.

[Christyn Jeffries]

It does. So many people stop short of giving it their all.

[Samuel Dickens]

I agree--the way you describe most men is dead-on. At least one man, though, offers a bit of hope. I skimmed some of your other work, and must commend you for tackling such difficult subjects.

[Christyn Jeffries]

Thanks. I usually write when I get worked up about issues in society.