Petals in a Slave

열

As a man,
You are told that you are superior,
So you think it gives you the right to
act King Kong and expect women to
grovel in your presence.
You think you would earn respect if you
scowled at people, make threats and hurt people.
Pitiful!

As a man,
You were groomed to never show your feelings.
When you talked about the pain from when
she touched you consistently,
They said "be strong, you are a man"
You tried to convey your message by causing havoc,
Created scenes where she could be questioned but she was your sister.
How would you tell them that you had slowly begun to enjoy the effects of the pain inflicted?
No one believed you then, they didn't now.
"Toughen up son, you will start a family someday"

As a man,
Being closed up is strength.
Slowly cracking and eventually shattering from within is strength.
"Don't feel "  they say
Talking about it is weakness which is meant for women.
Why would you want to open up?
When you did, no one listened.
You'd rather appear strong to caress your ego than cave in.

As a man,
You are born with the manual of life itself.
You are the engineer when needed,
the mechanic when desired, the plumber et cetera.
But you are hardly the recipient of love.
It is expected that you always give.
It is expected that you live life solely to please a woman not to be respectful or nice but romantically please her.
You are to carry the world on your shoulders and not share it with loved ones to prove you are not a coward.

~~~

I'm a little insecure about this piece. I wrote in 2019, (posting 2021) both the last and this one. I wanted to portray both genders and certain things that has been termed normal like a man being called weak if he tears up or a woman being weak when she asks for help.
.
Hopefully, what I wrote makes sense in it's own way.
.
Let me know your thoughts, I don't bite.