The tears that men cry

Men don’t cry very often.

Not for lack of tears, nor for

lack of opportunity;

the tougher the target, the

greater the incentive to do it damage.

 

Real men cry, even if they don’t know why;

they just don’t do it very often.

 

Men cry, not out of emotion, but because

they are breaking, betraying their strength,

violating their will to conceal

a hurting child, looking to the man they have

become to protect him.

 

The sound they make is fuelled by disappointment

terror, anguish and rage 

at not finding room or time

to conceal that boy’s tears for processing

at a later date.

 

The sound of a man’s cry

is the death rattle of his self-control,

and it is horrible,

unspeakable,

a sound that is physically manifest.

 

It is the sound of rupturing, as a hurt, broken boy finds

less and less room to stay hidden in. There is not room enough

for a boy and a man within one body; both battle one another

for the best hiding spot.

 

Men don’t cry; they break.

Reviews

[Muse]

Men cry, not out of emotion, but because

they are breaking, betraying their strength,

violating their will to conceal

I believe this is very true...because men don't cry, it builds like a dam under pressure. The dam does not leak.....rather it breaks instead, when it all finally becomes too much!

[Adora.xo]

Well, from a female perspective I'd say that this is a release. It is true as far as I can see as a woman and not a man. I've seen only one man cry, and when he did, my heart broke. Men don't cry; the break... that was a beautiful line, and fulfilled the rest of the poem quite well. I don't know about anyone else who's read this, but when I read this I could here the choked sobs of a man ringing in my ears, that gutteral sound as he breaks a little bit more under the weight of whatever it is that he carries; I found that very impressive seeing as you didn't really describe a man crying, but more the why behind the crying... and if you were describing a man crying then you did so in a most unusual way. Either way, this was a brilliant piece! Great job

~Rose

[Warren L.G De Mills]

Wonderful piece. This is so true and I had a discussion about this very thing recently and I raised these very points! good points they truly are!. I enjoyed reading as I am sure others did.

[Chris]

There is truth and there IS truth... there is crying and then there IS crying. I've heard mewling and possibly at certain moments I won't describe. I may have added my own to the mix. Shattering is not gender specific... but sometimes its all you have.

[stars are far]

This was perfect ...
and i think that it is not wrong for men to cry cause every one would be hurted one day or more in his life so they should not keep it in their souls ripped , cause they would break and crying is better than breaking ..

[Black]

an excellent piece

[joshua deathdealer]

This is a masterpiece, hands down concerning the subject. This is almost exactly how I feel. Well penned. Like a mans emotional roller coaster if you will. lol Excellent Jeremy. "Real men cry, even if they don’t know why"...xx

[Ruth]

Brilliant!
I think society condemns too much in the light of things such as this!
Breaking is ruptured and all consumed!
Brilliant work love
xoxo

[kurdapiaful]

if i were just a boy :)

[Larry Dyson]

very descriptive ..but all said summed up in the last few stanza..'The sound of a man’s cry
is the death rattle of his self-control,
and it is horrible,
unspeakable,
a sound that is physically manifest.


It is the sound of rupturing, as a hurt, broken boy finds
less and less room to stay hidden in. There is not room enough
for a boy and a man within one body; both battle one another
for the best hiding spot.


Men don’t cry; they break.'